Investigation of the Clinical Course and Outcomes of Bonsai Use

• DOI: 10.4274/eajem.galenos.2019.05025
• Publication Date: 2019-06-20T11:01:42Z
• Authors: Nezih Kavak; Umut Yücel Çavuş; Rasime Pelin Kavak; Hasan Sultanoğlu; Burcu Doğan
• Keywords: 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; emergency department; Bonsai; RC86-88.9; R; Medicine; Medical emergencies. Critical care. Intensive care. First aid; synthetic cannabinoids; 3. Good health

Aim:We aimed to contribute to the contemporary literature by investigating the clinical course and outcomes of bonsai, a synthetic cannabinoid with progressively increasing use.Materials and Methods:Our study retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 149 patients with symptoms related to bonsai use. The parameters included age, gender, blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, Glasgow coma scale, route and duration of bonsai use, time used, symptoms, follow-up period in the emergency department, regular ward and intensive care unit, need for mechanical ventilation, biochemistry panel, abstinence, intoxication, mortality, and morbidity.Results:The most common symptoms were agitation (49.7%) and anxiety (28.9%). Intoxication was correlated with creatinine and creatine kinase-myocardial band (p<0.05). Patients who were intoxicated had more agitation, impaired consciousness, and speech disturbances (p<0.05). The mean emergency department follow-up period was 8 hours. The follow-up period was 4 days in the intensive care unit and 2 days in the regular ward. The overall mortality rate was 2%.Conclusion:Bonsai use is characterized by ischemic symptoms and can therefore be fatal.