Cardiac Profile Assessment of Acute Opioid Intoxicated Addicted Patients Admitted to General Hospitals of Port Said and Damietta Governorates

Document Type : Review Article

Authors

Department of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology. Faculty of Medicine – Port Said University

Abstract

Substance abuse continues to be a significant global public health issue. With the availability of more potent medications and an increasing variety of drugs and their combinations, preventing and treating drug abuse disorders represents a formidable challenge. It necessitates a comprehensive strategy encompassing education, prevention, treatment, and recovery support. In addition to the rapidly rising fatality rate caused by drug overdose, non-fatal overdoses have also been linked to renal failure, aspiration pneumonia, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders, and cognitive impairment. The nationwide mortality rate due to heroin overdose has risen by almost 15-fold since 1999. This phenomenon is mostly attributed to the common use of fentanyl in addition to heroin, an opioid that has a lethality 50-100 times greater than that of morphine. The increase in opioid misuse has led to the emergence of many often unnoticed symptoms of toxicity, especially among young victims. A plethora of clinical and experimental studies investigating the impact of opium on the cardiovascular system have consistently shown many adverse consequences. Principal results include QT interval elongation, bradycardia, torsade de pointes arrhythmia, and coronary artery abnormalities. Extension of the QT duration interval seems to be the most frequent adverse effect in the heart of synthetic opioids. Cardiovascular issues associated with opioids may elevate the mortality risk. Therefore, we investigate the cardiovascular characteristics of individuals experiencing acute opioid intoxication to identify further anomalies in their cardiac profile during acute addicted opioid poisoning.

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Medicine Updates
Volume 20, Issue 20
January 2025
Pages 11-29

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