Intestinal ischemia caused by cocaine ingestion: report of two cases

Ingested cocaine can be a cause of severe bowel ischemia or gangrene. Two cocaine addicts who ingested large quantities of the drug developed severe abdominal symptoms and signs caused by bowel ischemia. In one patient gangrene of the bowel necessitated repeated resections and was followed, several weeks later, by death. The other patient suffered less severe ischemia and the bowel returned to normal. The diagnosis of bowel ischemia should be suspected whenever a cocaine addict has severe abdominal symptoms and signs. The presence of marked leukocytosis suggests bowel gangrene and demands prompt surgical intervention.