Methamphetamine Intoxication in Children: A Single-Center Experience

Abstract

Objective: Illicit substances, especially methamphetamine, are becoming increasingly popular with adolescents in Turkey as well as around the world. Most of the studies conducted for this purpose in Turkey are survey studies. Our study therefore aimed to evaluate the clinical features and laboratory parameters of patients who applied to our hospital and were found to have methamphetamine intoxication.

Materials and Methods: Patients under 18 who applied to the Ankara City Hospital Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) between August 2019 and December 2021 and were found to be positive for methamphetamine in the urine drug screening were included in the study,and their data were evaluated retrospectively.

Results: We reviewed 10 cases presenting to our PED with methamphetamine intoxication. The mean age was 16.3 ± 0.94 (14-17) and 80% of patients were male. Eight patients concealed substance use at admission. The most frequent complaints upon presentation were cardiovascular, neurological, and gastrointestinal system symptoms. Concomitant alcohol use was detected in four patients, multidrug use in one patient. No significant pathology was observed in the laboratory tests. Gastric perforation was detected in one patient with abdominal pain, and pneumomediastinum was detected in one patient with chest pain.

Conclusion: There are no specific clinical and laboratory indicators of methamphetamine intoxication, and substance abuse should be considered in all cases where a possible reason cannot explain the patient’s clinical findings. Children who use alcohol should be questioned about substance abuse, care should be taken in terms of multiple substance use, and follow-up and rehabilitation plans for patients should be made accordingly.

Keywords

• methamphetamine
• children
• substances
• alcohol
• urine drug screening

Çocuklarda Metamfetamin İntoksikasyonu: Tek Merkez Deneyimi

Abstract

Amaç: Yasadışı uyuşturucu maddeler, özellikle de metamfetamin, dünyada olduğu gibi Türkiye'de de ergenler arasında giderek daha popüler hale gelmektedir. Türkiye'de bu amaçla yapılan çalışmaların çoğu anket çalışmalarıdır. Çalışmamız ise hastanemize başvuran ve metamfetamin intoksikasyonu saptanan hastaların klinik özelliklerini ve laboratuvar parametrelerini değerlendirmeyi amaçlamıştır.

Gereç ve Yöntemler: Ağustos 2019-Aralık 2021 tarihleri arasında Ankara Şehir Hastanesi Çocuk Acil Servisi'ne başvuran ve idrar toksik madde taramasında metamfetamin pozitif saptanan 18 yaş altı hastalar çalışmaya dahil edildi ve verileri retrospektif olarak değerlendirildi.

Bulgular: Çalışmamızda metamfetamin intoksikasyonu saptanan 10 hastayı inceledik. Ortalama yaş 16.3 ± 0.94 (14-17) idi ve hastaların %80'i erkekti. Sekiz hasta başvuru sırasında madde kullanımını gizledi. Başvuru anında en sık kardiyovasküler, nörolojik ve gastrointestinal sistem semptomları görüldü. Dört hastada eşzamanlı alkol kullanımı, bir hastada çoklu uyuşturucu kullanımı saptandı. Laboratuar testlerinde önemli bir patoloji gözlenmedi. Karın ağrısı olan bir hastada mide perforasyonu, göğüs ağrısı olan bir hastada pnömomediastinum tespit edildi.

Sonuç: Metamfetamin intoksikasyonunun spesifik klinik ve laboratuvar göstergeleri yoktur ve olası bir nedenin hastanın klinik bulgularını açıklayamadığı tüm durumlarda madde kötüye kullanımı düşünülmelidir. Alkol kullanan çocuklarda madde kullanımı sorgulanmalı, çoklu madde kullanımı açısından dikkatli olunmalı, buna göre hasta takip ve rehabilitasyon planları yapılmalıdır.

Keywords

• metamfetamin
• çocuk
• uyuşturucu maddeler
• alkol
• idrar uyuşturucu taraması

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