Open AccessA Case of Kratom Use: Implications for Managing Addiction and Addressing Comorbidity in Overdose Survivors, and for the Education of Clinicians Who Are Not Addiction Specialists
Author(s) -
Joseph H. Donroe,
David A. Fiellin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of addiction medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.264
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1935-3227
pISSN - 1932-0620
DOI - 10.1097/adm.0000000000000872
Subject(s) - comorbidity , medicine , addiction , psychiatric comorbidity , psychiatry , drug overdose , intensive care medicine , medical emergency , poison control
As overdose mortality rises, overdose morbidity - complications seen as a result of overdose events - is rising too. Although comorbidity is often thought of as psychiatric or psychological, a case report of compartment syndrome, rhabdomyolysis, and acute renal insufficiency in a patient with loss of consciousness for 6 hours after smoking Kratom highlights medical comorbidity. The case is a reminder that a broad range of medical comorbidities can occur in patients with overdose and with unhealthy substance use. Patients with these comorbidities will often be cared for by clinicians who are not addiction specialists, who will need to have sufficient training to recognize and address them.