A suppository may be formulated with an opiate or other drug of abuse. An addict who injects a melted suppository intravenously may develop a number of thromboembolic complications.
The emboli may consist of:
(1) lipid material or undissolved material from the suppository
(2) foreign material used to "filter" the melted suppository
Clinical features:
(1) The patient is engaged in intravenous drug abuse.
(2) The patient has injected a solution prepared from a melted suppository.
(3) The patient develops thromboembolic complications.
(4) Other causes for thromboemboli (endocarditis, other) are excluded.
Thromboemboli may lodge in:
(1) brain, with stroke
(2) retinal arteries, with altered vision
(3) lungs
(4) kidneys
(5) skin
(6) heart
The foreign material can sometimes be identified in a biopsy from an infarcted area.
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