Uncommon drug abuse: An anesthetist dilemma

Although mephentermine (Termin) and ephedrine are commonly used drugs for the treatment of hypotension during anesthesia but their abuse have markedly increased, especially in the young population due to its stimulant properties. Here, we report a case of 23-year-old man with a history of chronic mephentermine abuse, posted for Achilles tendon repair under spinal anesthesia. During intraoperative period, spinal induced hypotension showed unusual resistance to ephedrine boluses and was managed by using directly acting vasoconstrictor, that is, phenylephrine.