title: The Wide and Unpredictable Scope of Synthetic Cannabinoids Toxicity.
abstract: Drug use and abuse continue to be a large public health concern worldwide. Over the past decade, novel or atypical drugs have emerged and become increasingly popular. In the recent past, compounds similar to tetrahydrocannabinoid (THC), the active ingredient of marijuana, have been synthetically produced and offered commercially as legal substances. Since the initial communications of their abuse in 2008, few case reports have been published illustrating the misuse of these substances with signs and symptoms of intoxication. Even though synthetic cannabinoids have been restricted, they are still readily available across USA and their use has been dramatically increasing, with a concomitant increment in reports to poison control centers and emergency department (ED) visits. We describe a case of acute hypoxemic/hypercapnic respiratory failure as a consequence of acute congestive heart failure (CHF) developed from myocardial stunning resulting from a non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (MI) following the consumption of synthetic cannabinoids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, 760 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6545-3180
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Orsini
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, 760 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA.
authors.forename: Christa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blaak
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, 760 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, 760 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA.
authors.forename: Salil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rajayer
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, 760 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA.
authors.forename: Joaquin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morante
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, 760 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yeh
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center, 760 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11206, USA.
authors.forename: Ashvin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Butala