Doctors warned in the journal BMJ Case Reports that fentanyl is cheap, easy to get, and 50 times stronger than heroin after treating a 47-year-old man who had snorted the drug and been found unconscious in his hotel room.
In New Delhi a new study released today says that breathing in the synthetic drug fentanyl, which is allowed by the US Food and Drug Administration for use as an anesthetic and pain reliever, can hurt the brain in a way that can't be fixed.
Doctors warned in the journal BMJ Case Reports that fentanyl is cheap, easy to get, and 50 times stronger than heroin after treating a 47-year-old man who had snorted the drug and been found unconscious in his hotel room.
"We know all too well the classic opiate side effects: slow breathing, loss of consciousness, and feeling lost," said lead author Chris Eden, who is now in his second year as an internal medicine trainee at Oregon Health & Science University.
He also said, "But we don't usually think of it affecting the brain and possibly causing damage that can't be fixed being this bad."
The middle-aged man was identified with toxic leukoencephalopathy by inhaling fentanyl. This means that the drug damaged and swollen the white matter of the brain. This made them lose awareness and may have caused permanent brain damage or even death.
There are many signs and symptoms of the disease, but the most noticeable ones are changes in the brain and behavior, which can range from light confusion to stupor, coma, and death.
Some people will fully heal, even though it takes a long time, while others will get worse over time.
In this case, a brain scan showed white matter inflammation, swelling, and damage in his cerebellum, which is the part of the brain that controls balance and walking.
After that, the man was stuck in bed for 18 days and had to be fed through a tube. Several different drugs were given to treat urine leakage, kidney damage, memory loss, possible painkiller withdrawal, pain and restlessness, and pneumonia.
He went through therapy after 26 days, and after another month, he went back home. Outpatient hydrotherapy and manual treatment, on the other hand, kept going.
The study said it took him almost a year to fully get better and go back to work full-time.
