Acute Mesenteric Ischemia Due to Amphetamine Use -A Case Report

Introduction: Mesenteric ischemia is the cause leading to gangrene of the small intestine. The cause being atherosclerosis and is commonly seen in old individuals. However, in young patients, it is a rare phenomenon and the cause can be attributed to drugs of abuse such as cocaine, methamphetamine which makes our case distinct.

Case details: A 19 year old female was suffering from vague symptoms like pain abdomen and burning micturition since two months which increased 2 days prior to her death. She consulted a doctor but refused admission. The diagnosis was not made and she was prescribed medications for the pain. She was found unresponsive and when taken to hospital, the doctor declared as brought dead. The salient autopsy feature were small intestine gangrene and bronchiolitis which were confirmed by histopathology. The toxicology analysis ofpostmortem blood tested positive for amphetamine.

Discussion: Amphetamine addiction is common among today’s youth by virtue of its stimulant effects. Even though used in treatment of conditions such as ADHD, it is prone to cause addiction. It has various side effects and causes complications related to central nervous system. However, the gastrointestinal effects are rare with mesenteric ischemia being the prominent cause.