Cocaine Users At Risk Of Life Threatening Abdominal Complications February 3, 2006 - medicalnewstoday.com
Doctors, writing in the February issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, have warned of life threatening abdominal complications following the rise of cocaine abuse in the UK.
?Abdominal complications from cocaine abuse are life-threatening and require emergency surgery,? said Luke Meleagros, Consultant Surgeon at North Middlesex University Hospital.
?In extreme cases a patient may end up with a colostomy.?
Cocaine use has increased considerably over the last 10 years. It is estimated that 344, 000 people abuse cocaine and 17,000 abuse crack every month in the UK.
?Cocaine abuse is a serious problem in the UK and in particular, London, where its use is more prevalent,? said Mr Meleagros.
?However, as the number of cocaine abusers rises we expect the accompanying health complications to spread across the country.?
The authors of this latest report cite two recent cases of gastrointestinal perforation secondary to cocaine abuse within a few weeks of each other.
?Abdominal complications are more common with users of crack cocaine and in poor, inner city areas. However, we suspect that there is an under reporting or misrecognition of the problem in other areas, particularly affluent areas, as these complications occur in cocaine users as well,? said Mr Meleagros.
?This study draws attention to an emerging serious health complication but there is more work to be done. We'd certainly be interested to see the experience of other hospitals to gain a better understanding of the extent of the problem,? he said.
While gastrointestinal complications following cocaine abuse are uncommon compared with other complications such as chest pain and respiratory problems, they are relatively well documented in the USA due to the higher incidence of drug abuse there.
The symptoms include abdominal pain and tenderness, nausea, vomiting and bloody diarrhoea. The onset may be within an hour following drug abuse but could take up to 48 hours.
?The diagnosis of an acute abdomen may be difficult and requires a high index of clinical suspicion,? write the researchers.
?In view of the increasing abuse of cocaine and crack in this country, it is important that doctors should be aware of their abdominal complications especially mesenteric ischemia and gastroduodenal perforation, which primarily affects younger age groups.?
?Life threatening abdominal complications following cocaine abuse' by A Tiwari, M Moghal and L Meleagros is published in the February issue (Vol. 99) of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
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