Intraarterial Injection of Drugs of Abuse into Femoral Artery: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Accidental intraarterial injection is a serious condition which can compromise the viability of the limb within hours. There are no evidence based guidelines suggesting the proper treatment protocol and there is no consensus about the ideal treatment for these events. We present a case where a mixture of benzodiazepine pills and street heroin was injected in right femoral artery. Patient arrived in hospital days after event. With intraarterial application of thrombolysis, vasodilators and heparin major amputation was avoided. It seems that in selected cases combined therapy with rtPA lysis and PGE1 intra-arterial infusion may prevent major limb amputation even in delayed presentation of acute leg ischaemia caused by inadvertent injection of drugs of abuse.