PULMONARY COMPLICATIONS OF NARCOTIC ABUSE

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Abstract
The admissions for drug overdoses to the medical intensive care unit of our institution for the past 3 years were reviewed. Forty-five patients were included in this study and separated according to the type of drug overdosage, clinical presentation and the presence of pulmonary edema. Only those patients that had taken an overdose of heroin and/or methadone had pulmonary edema either clinically or by chest roentgenography. Of the 21 patients who were treated for overdosage of one or combinations of these 2 drugs, 8 had pulmonary edema on their chest roentgenogram. However, only 5 out of the 8 patients had physical findings of pulmonary edema. All patients with pulmonary edema had clearing on the chest roentgenograms within 24-48 hours. Radiologists can make a significant contribution in the diagnosis of the narcotic abuse patients, particularly in the acute overdose situation, by being aware of the temporal sequence of the roentgenographic manifestations.

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