MEDizzy - A 27-year-old man with a recent history of drug abuse

Feed Library Learning Discuss Leaderboard Journal

Drugs of Abuse

A 27-year-old man with a recent history of drug abuse presented to the emergency department with violent , shaking chills. He also complained of rest lessness, insomnia, nausea, and abdominal cramps and exhibited profuse sweating, rhinorrhea, yawning, and piloerection. He admit ted he was out of money and was unable to get the usual supply of the drug he had been using for 3 months. From which of the following drugs was he most likely experiencing withdrawal? A. B. C.

ExplanationThe patient’s signs and symptoms indicate that heroin was the drug from which he was experiencing withdrawal. Opioid abstinence syndrome includes • Prodromal phase, characterized by autonomic activation (rhinorrhea, lacrimation, salivation, yawning, and sweating) that lasts 6 to 10 hours • Acute withdrawal syndrome, characterized by a high degree of behavioral, somatic, and autonomic activation (rest lessness, shaking chills, piloerection, nausea, abdominal cramps, etc.) that lasts about 7 to 10 days. • Protracted withdrawal syndrome, characterized by subtle signs and symptoms that can persist for up to 6 months. During this period, the recidivism rate is high.