Methamphetamine Ingestion Misdiagnosed as Centruroides sculpturatus Envenomation

• Main Authors: Joshua Strommen, Farshad Shirazi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2015-01-01
• Series: Case Reports in Emergency Medicine
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/320574

The authors present a case report of a 17-month-old female child who ingested a large amount of methamphetamine that looked very similar clinically to a scorpion envenomation specific to the southwestern United States by the species Centruroides sculpturatus. The child was initially treated with 3 vials of antivenom specific for that scorpion species and showed a transient, though clinically relevant neurologic improvement. Her clinical course of sympathomimetic toxicity resumed and she was treated with intravenous fluids and benzodiazepines after blood analysis showed significant levels of d-methamphetamine. This case report is to specifically underline the clinical confusion in discerning between these two conditions and the realization of limited and/or expensive resources that may be used in the process.