Opioid‐related xylazine toxicity manifesting as myonecrosis, rhabdomyolysis, multifocal ischemic cerebral infarcts, and cerebral edema

Abstract

Abstract This article provides a report of a case of organ dysfunction, myonecrosis, rhabdomyolysis, multifocal ischemic cerebral infarcts, and cerebral edema after a patient's use of xylazine and fentanyl. Within the US opioid epidemic, xylazine is emerging as a troubling national sub‐story. The prevalence of xylazine within illicitly manufactured opioids and the proportion of opioid‐involved overdose deaths with detected xylazine are rising dramatically, the latter increasing 276% between 2019 and 2022. A 27‐year‐old woman with opioid use disorder, active intravenous drug use, and prior bacteremia presented to our institution's emergency department (ED) with left lower extremity pain and associated weakness, new acute bilateral hearing loss, multiple electrolyte derangements, and cerebral infarcts followed by cerebral edema, leading to an emergent sub‐occipital decompressive craniectomy and placement of an external ventricular drain. A definitive mechanism was not determined; however, we hypothesized that xylazine toxicity played a role in her clinical presentation, which could have future clinical implications, including the possibility to incorporate xylazine as part of toxicology screens.

Keywords

• fentanyl
• heroin
• opioids
• xylazine