Acute Limb Ischemia After Self-Injection of Crushed Morphine Tablets into the Radial Artery: Role of Infrared Thermography in the Assessment of Tissue Perfusion.

BACKGROUND This article presents a case involving complications after intentional injection of crushed tablets into the arterial circulation, its diagnosis, and the treatment adopted. The diagnosis process illustrates the potential of techniques based on thermal imaging as tools to assess tissue perfusion. Inadvertent intravenous injection of crushed tablets is more common, but there are few reports on arterial circulation, and no studies were found on the self-injection of crushed morphine tablets, particularly into the radial artery. CASE REPORT A 51-year-old man with alcoholism and a history of illegal drug usage intentionally self-injected 3 crushed morphine tablets into his right radial artery. The patient progressed with compartment syndrome, requiring decompressive fasciotomy of the right forearm and ischemia of the right fingers, which were amputated. He presented with rhabdomyolysis and required dialysis. The patient agreed to full heparinization, corticotherapy, and the use of nitroglycerin and prostaglandin E1. Due to the progression of the necrotic area, the patient underwent proximal phalanx excision and surgical reconstruction of the right-hand remnant. CONCLUSIONS The injection of morphine tablets into circulation caused severe complications, which led to the excision of the proximal phalanx and the surgical reconstruction of the remnant of the right hand. In the present case, infrared thermography proved to be an effective method in assessing tissue perfusion.