TY - JOUR PY - 2022// TI - A two-decade review of butane toxicity as a substance of abuse JO - Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology A1 - Vahabzadeh, Maryam A1 - Megarbane, Bruno SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - Butane, an aliphatic hydrocarbon with explosive and flammable properties, is widely misused especially by young people. Acting as an asphyxiant gas, butane mainly targets the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. We aimed to review butane-attributed toxicities due to its harmful use or misuse reported in a two-decade period. We searched English-language publications reporting butane toxicities from 2000 up to 2021 and collected data on age, gender, route and source of exposure, country of origin, clinical presentation, and outcome. Among fifty-four butane harmful use/misuse cases identified in the literature, there were eleven survivors successfully discharged from hospital. Patients were predominantly males with a mean age ± SD of 23 ± 13 years. The main route of exposure was inhalation. Manifestations were mainly cardiac and neurological. The majority of cases were reported from Europe and Japan. To conclude, butane exposure is at risk of severe central nervous system and cardiac toxicities, which may result in a fatal outcome. Therefore, in the event of sudden or suspicious death in a young individual, our findings suggest that butane harmful use/misuse should be considered as a potential differential diagnosis.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1742-7835 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bcpt.13760 ID - ref1 ER -