Intracranial Hemorrhage Associated with Amphetamine Abuse

Abstract

<h3>To the Editor.—</h3> A variety of profound personality changes have been noted in patients taking amphetamines intravenously over a period of weeks and months.¹At least ten deaths have been reported due to a toxic hypermetabolic state characterized first by transient hyperactivity, then hyperpyrexia, acidosis, and cardiovascular collapse.² This report describes two patients with intracranial hemorrhage occurring shortly after they had taken amphetamines. <h3>Report of Cases.—Case 1.—</h3> An 18-year-old Negro boy was admitted to Harbor General Hospital because of peristent severe bifrontal headache and a single seizure. For several months he had been occasionally taking as many as two to three 10-mg dextroamphetamine sulfate tablets a day. Two days prior to admision, he took 50 mg dextroamphetamine sulfate orally in less than one hour. Within an hour he developed an increasingly severe bifrontal headache. One day prior to admission, he was observed by friends to have