Abstract
Background:
Inhalants are a very diverse class of substances with a highly prevalent recreational use. Difluroethane (DFE) is a psychoactive ingredient present in several propellants and dust remover products. Past reports have described the toxicological effects of this compound, but its addictive potential is poorly described in the literature.
Case:
We present a case report (N = 1) of an adult man who very rapidly developed a severe inhalant use disorder (IUD), in the context of an early remission of an alcohol use disorder (AUD). He received treatment with naltrexone in a residential treatment program. He provided verbal and written consent for the publication of this case report.
Discussion:
This is the first follow-up case of dust remover-IUD treated with naltrexone described in the literature. This case is clinically important for several reasons, including its atypical age of presentation, rapid progression, medical consequences, and positive response to multimodal treatment. The easy availability and lack of regulation of many inhalants, such as DFE, combined with the inability to be detected in regular screening tests, make this phenomenon a potential public health threat. We hypothesize that, consistent with previous reports, there might be a common neurobiological signature between AUD and IUD.
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