Zeitschrift für Suchtforschung und -therapie

Abstrakt

Delayed Posthypoxic Leucoencephalopaty: Is a Rare Condition in Patients after Episodes with Hypoxia Due to Drug Overdose with Opioids, Benzodiazepines and Barbiturates, Among Other Causes

Moshgan Amiri* and Line Sofie Lunde Larsen

Patients suffering from acute hypoxic episodes with respiratory failure and initial recovery, may in rare occasions present with neurological and neuropsychological symptoms occurring 2 to 4 weeks after recovery from the hypoxic episode. This rare entity is named Delayed Posthypoxic Leucoencephalopaty (DPHL). The patients present with typical MRI-findings of bilateral subcortical white matter lesions. The primary hypoxic episodes might, among other causes, be due to drug overdose with opioids, benzodiazepines and barbiturates. There is no evidence-based treatment for the condition and the majority of patients with DPHL recover spontaneously.