Ayman Osman, Dalia Yousif, Simon Hickman, William Branagh
{"title":"'From highs to lows: a cautionary tale of nitrous oxide recreational use leading to sub-acute combined degeneration of the cord'.","authors":"Ayman Osman, Dalia Yousif, Simon Hickman, William Branagh","doi":"10.1093/omcr/omae068","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Several causes lead to subacute combined degeneration (SACD) of the spinal cord, with nitrous oxide (N2O) inhalation rapidly emerging as the leading cause of functional Vitamin B12 deficiency [1].</p><p><strong>Case presentation: </strong>A 28-year-old man presented with numbness in the extremities and an unstable gait despite having a normal serum Vitamin B12 level. He also disclosed the recreational abuse of N2O. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine revealed abnormal signals consistent with SACD. The patient's condition gradually improved after treatment with high dose Vitamin B12. Given the increasing number of N2O-induced SACD cases, the potential for drug abuse requires vigilance from clinicians.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Healthcare providers are urged to inquire about a patient's history of N2O inhalation to prevent the missed diagnosis of SACD.</p>","PeriodicalId":45318,"journal":{"name":"Oxford Medical Case Reports","volume":"2024 7","pages":"omae068"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11246556/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Oxford Medical Case Reports","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/omcr/omae068","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/7/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Several causes lead to subacute combined degeneration (SACD) of the spinal cord, with nitrous oxide (N2O) inhalation rapidly emerging as the leading cause of functional Vitamin B12 deficiency [1].
Case presentation: A 28-year-old man presented with numbness in the extremities and an unstable gait despite having a normal serum Vitamin B12 level. He also disclosed the recreational abuse of N2O. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine revealed abnormal signals consistent with SACD. The patient's condition gradually improved after treatment with high dose Vitamin B12. Given the increasing number of N2O-induced SACD cases, the potential for drug abuse requires vigilance from clinicians.
Conclusion: Healthcare providers are urged to inquire about a patient's history of N2O inhalation to prevent the missed diagnosis of SACD.
期刊介绍:
Oxford Medical Case Reports (OMCR) is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal publishing original and educationally valuable case reports that expand the field of medicine. The journal covers all medical specialities including cardiology, rheumatology, nephrology, oncology, neurology, and reproduction, comprising a comprehensive resource for physicians in all fields and at all stages of training. Oxford Medical Case Reports deposits all articles in PubMed Central (PMC). Physicians and researchers can find your work through PubMed , helping you reach the widest possible audience. The journal is also indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection . Oxford Medical Case Reports publishes case reports under the following categories: Allergy Audiovestibular medicine Cardiology and cardiovascular systems Critical care medicine Dermatology Emergency medicine Endocrinology and metabolism Gastroenterology and hepatology Geriatrics and gerontology Haematology Immunology Infectious diseases and tropical medicine Medical disorders in pregnancy Medical ophthalmology Nephrology Neurology Oncology Paediatrics Pain Palliative medicine Pharmacology and pharmacy Psychiatry Radiology, nuclear medicine, and medical imaging Respiratory disorders Rheumatology Sexual and reproductive health Sports Medicine Substance abuse.