Case Report SSRI Facilitated Crack Dancing

Choreoathetoid movement secondary to cocaine use is a well-documented phenomenon better known as "crack dancing." It consists of uncontrolled writhing movements secondary to excess dopamine from cocaine use. We present a 32-year-old male who had been using cocaine for many years and was recently started on paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) for worsening depression four weeks before presentation. He had been doing cocaine every 2 weeks for the last three years and had never "crack danced" before this episode. The authors have conducted a thorough literature review and cited studies that suggest "crack dancing" is associated with excess dopamine. There has never been a documented case report of an SSRI being linked with "crack dancing." The authors propose that the excess dopaminergic effect of the SSRI lowered the dopamine threshold for "crack dancing." There is a communication with the Raphe Nucleus and the Substantia Nigra, which explains how the SSRI increases dopamine levels. This is the first documented case of an SSRI facilitating the "crack dance.&quot

SSRI Facilitated Crack Dancing

Choreoathetoid movement secondary to cocaine use is a well-documented phenomenon better known as “crack dancing.” It consists of uncontrolled writhing movements secondary to excess dopamine from cocaine use. We present a 32-year-old male who had been using cocaine for many years and was recently started on paroxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) for worsening depression four weeks before presentation. He had been doing cocaine every 2 weeks for the last three years and had never “crack danced” before this episode. The authors have conducted a thorough literature review and cited studies that suggest “crack dancing” is associated with excess dopamine. There has never been a documented case report of an SSRI being linked with “crack dancing.” The authors propose that the excess dopaminergic effect of the SSRI lowered the dopamine threshold for “crack dancing.” There is a communication with the Raphe Nucleus and the Substantia Nigra, which explains how the SSRI increases dopamine levels. This is the first documented case of an SSRI facilitating the “crack dance.

Acute Esophageal Necrosis in an Alcoholic after Successful Resuscitation from Cardiac Arrest

Introduction. We present a patient who presented to the ICU after successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest who was subsequently diagnosed with AEN. Case Presentation. A 66-year-old female presented after cardiac arrest in which return of spontaneous circulation was achieved within 7 minutes after the initiation of CPR. She was intubated on the scene and found to have coffee ground emesis in her bathroom when found unresponsive. Due to the hemodynamically significant GI bleed, patient was started on IV proton pump inhibitor, octreotide, and levophed. Subsequent endoscopy showed diffuse severe mucosal changes characterized by blackness, erythema, friability, granularity, inflammation, and decreased vascular pattern in the middle third of the esophagus and in the lower third of the esophagus. Discussion. AEN is a rare syndrome with a prevalence ranging from 0.001 to 0.2% of EGD. This patient is especially rare as this patient was female and had AEN in the middle esophagus along with lower esophagus. The pathophysiology in this patient is hypothesized that she had cardiac arrest secondary to acute upper GI hemorrhage. Subsequent low-flow state (cardiac arrest) in addition to being in the setting of severe alcohol abuse led to esophageal necrosis

Primary Effusion Lymphoma: Is Dose-Adjusted-EPOCH Worthwhile Therapy?

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a rare condition, which accounts for approximately 4% of all human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated non-Hodgkin lymphomas. PEL has a predilection for body cavities and occurs in the pleural space, pericardium, and peritoneum. Without treatment, the median survival is approximately 2–3 months, and with chemotherapy, the median survival is approximately 6 months. We describe the case of a 47-year-old male with HIV and Kaposi’s sarcoma who presented with complaints of abdominal pain and distension and was subsequently diagnosed with PEL. Despite limited clinical data being available, chemotherapy with dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin (EPOCH) has proven to increase survival rates in patients with this condition