Holm Sebastian, Tabrisi Reza, Zdolsek Johann
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Örebro University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, SE 70182 Örebro, Sweden.
Eur Burn J. 2025 Mar 7;6(1):14. doi: 10.3390/ebj6010014.
Nitrous oxide has a wide range of medical applications, such as being used as an analgesic in general anesthesia, dental procedures, childbirth and sedation. Lately, it has also been employed as an inhalant recreational drug to induce brief euphoria. Recent studies indicate a worldwide rise in the incidence of skin frostbites associated with nitrous oxide use. A scoping review was conducted to synthesize and summarize the existing literature published in English regarding frostbite injuries associated with the recreational use of nitrous oxide. The literature search was carried out in July 2024 using databases such as Embase, Web of Science and PubMed. From an initial pool of 83 publications, 8 studies were ultimately selected for full-text review as they met our inclusion criteria for analysis. Additionally, we provide a representative clinical case involving a 21-year-old male who experienced frostbite following skin exposure to nitrous oxide. Most publications on nitrous oxide induced frostbites are from recent years, primarily between 2022 and 2024, with the first case documented in 1996. These injuries are mostly observed in young adults, with a female dominance, and are typically localized to the inner thighs. According to the existing literature, the predominant treatment approach is conservative management, with excision and split-thickness skin grafting (STSG) in the second place. This study represents the first literature review summarizing frostbite injuries to the skin from nitrous oxide misuse. There is a need for enhanced preventive measures to raise public awareness and reduce the incidence of frostbite injuries associated with the recreational use of nitrous oxide.
一氧化二氮有广泛的医学应用，例如在全身麻醉、牙科手术、分娩和镇静中用作镇痛药。最近，它还被用作吸入性消遣性药物以诱发短暂的欣快感。最近的研究表明，与一氧化二氮使用相关的皮肤冻伤发生率在全球范围内呈上升趋势。进行了一项范围综述，以综合和总结以英文发表的关于与一氧化二氮消遣性使用相关的冻伤损伤的现有文献。文献检索于2024年7月使用Embase、科学网和PubMed等数据库进行。从最初的83篇出版物中，最终选择了8项研究进行全文审查，因为它们符合我们的纳入分析标准。此外，我们提供了一个具有代表性的临床病例，涉及一名21岁男性，他在皮肤接触一氧化二氮后发生了冻伤。关于一氧化二氮引起的冻伤的大多数出版物来自近年来，主要是在2022年至2024年之间，第一例记录于1996年。这些损伤大多在年轻人中观察到，女性占主导地位，并且通常局限于大腿内侧。根据现有文献，主要的治疗方法是保守治疗，其次是切除和中厚皮片移植（STSG）。本研究是第一项总结因滥用一氧化二氮导致皮肤冻伤的文献综述。需要加强预防措施，以提高公众意识并减少与一氧化二氮消遣性使用相关的冻伤发生率。
