PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 3147049

Heroin inhalation and asthma.

S Hughes·P M Calverley
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Opiate addiction is an increasing social problem, and there has been a change from taking opiates intravenously to inhaling them in many areas of Britain. Three patients with asthma who required mechanical ventilation soon after heroin inhalation were described. Two subsequently died of acute severe asthma. The patients were reluctant to admit to their addiction and persisted inhaling heroin despite medical advice and counselling. Opiate inhalation can provoke life threatening asthmatic attacks and should be considered in patients at risk of abusing drugs who have poorly controlled asthma.

Explore related subjects

Administration, InhalationAdolescentAdultAsthmaFemaleHeroinHeroin DependenceHumansMaleCase ReportsJournal Article

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

S Hughes, P M Calverley. 1988-12-10. Heroin inhalation and asthma.. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.297.6662.1511

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2008

Concurrent carbogen and radiation therapy in children with high-risk brainstem gliomas.

In an attempt to improve local control, we assessed the feasibility of the addition of 4 min of carbogen inhalation (as a radiosensitizer) to daily fractionated radiotherapy in pediatric patients with high grade and/or diffuse brainstem gliomas. Ten patients inhaled carbogen for >90% of the radiation treatments. Median survival time from start of therapy was 0.80 years. Carbogen inhalation did not appear to improve the dismal prognosis.

Administration, Inhalation↗
PubMed2007

2. Advances in pharmacotherapy for COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the most common chronic lung disease in the world. In 1999, COPD ranked sixth among the most common causes of death and twelfth as a worldwide burden of disease. It has been estimated that by the year 2020 COPD will be the third leading cause of death and fifth as a worldwide burden of disease. Thus, COPD is a major medical problem and there is evidence that it is increasing throughout the world. Despite recognition of COPD as an important international health problem, COPD has been neglected among common diseases, with little investment in research on its underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms. Recently, global and Japanese guidelines for COPD have been published. These guidelines seem to be useful to improve the underdiagnosis and undertreatment of COPD. In this review, I describe briefly the current recommendation for pharmacological therapy of stable COPD according to the global and Japanese guidelines for COPD.

Administration, Inhalation↗