Halothane: An unusual addiction in a health worker. A case report from Jos, Nigeria

Abstract

Mrs M.D, a 35-year old theatre orderly was discovered to be abusing halothane. She had worked in the theatre for up to 2 years before she was discovered. One day while on night duty, she was found unconscious on the theatre floor with gauze soaked with halothane in her right hand. She was resuscitated with oxygen through a facemask. Subsequent psychological follow-up was carried out by the psychiatrists and she was posted out of theatre to the outpatient department to avoid further access to the substance. She has been free from this addiction since then. This case brings to fore the fact that many anaesthesia departments’ safety measures for the regulation of potentially addictive substances largely excluded inhalational anaesthetics. We write this article to alert of the danger of abuse/addiction not only among anaesthetists, but also among other theatre staff.

Key words: abuse, halothane