title: Drug abuse and the asthmatic patient: a case report.
abstract: The case history of a 17-year-old girl with sudden onset of theophylline toxicity and a serum theophylline concentration of 63 micrograms/ml is presented. A change in theophylline elimination was not sufficient to explain this observation. Subsequently, the patient admitted to recent self-medication with several over-the-counter medications and illicit drugs. Although the etiology of theophylline toxicity in this patient could not be defined, several theories are proposed. Included is a discussion of possible interactions of illicit drugs with asthma medications and a summary of personality characteristics associated with a high potential for drug abuse.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010551:Personality; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D013806:Theophylline / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D013806:Theophylline