Acute carotid thrombosis and ischemic stroke following overdose of the synthetic cannabinoid K2 in a previously healthy young adult male

Radiology Case Reports
Raihan FaroquiMichael T Mantello

Abstract

With the popularity of synthetic cannabinoid street drugs such as "K2 and Spice," a number of serious neurologic adverse events are coming to light. This case is a 36-year-old African American man, with no significant medical history, who presented with extensive left cervical and intracranial internal carotid artery occlusion and subsequent ischemic stroke. The patient endorsed smoking K2-a synthetic cannabinoid (SC) with structural similarity to cannabis. The mechanism by which SC abuse induces a prothrombotic state leading to ischemic neurovascular sequelae is currently unclear, although a temporal association in the absence of other stroke risk factors suggests a causal relationship. Our case highlights the need for emergent neuroimaging upon suspected SC overdose. Practitioners should be vigilant in recognizing that ischemic stroke and unexplained neurologic deficit can arise after SC abuse, especially in younger populations with few stroke risk factors and who are prone to chronic cannabis use.

Citations

Apr 7, 2020·Archives of Toxicology·Dino Luethi, Matthias E Liechti
Jan 11, 2020·Frontiers in Pharmacology·Sabrina Rahman Archie, Luca Cucullo
Aug 28, 2019·Journal of Clinical Medicine·Aristides TsatsakisMonica Neagu

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