DOI: 10.1097/01.pec.0000173349.38024.33

,  

,  

PMID: 16096599

Issn Print: 0749-5161

Publication Date: 2005/08/01


Print

Ataxia and Shaking in a 2-Year-Old Girl: Acute Marijuana Intoxication Presenting as Seizure

Joshua L. Bonkowsky; Dean Sarco; Scott L. Pomeroy

    loading  Checking for direct PDF access through Ovid

Excerpt

Altered mental status in young children has a broad differential diagnosis including infection, trauma, metabolic derangements, and ingestions. Determining the cause can be difficult, and key elements of the history or physical examination must be examined in combination with laboratory and imaging data. We report a case of a 2-year-old girl who presented with shaking of her arms, lethargy, and ataxia. Her initial diagnosis was a new-onset seizure disorder. A detailed clinical investigation revealed that the patient was having acute marijuana intoxication.
Adverse effects of marijuana intoxication have been well described in adults and include tachycardia, conjunctival injection, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, somnolence, incoordination, ataxia, and even coma. In children, there are few reports of accidental marijuana ingestion and its effects.1-5 Our report emphasizes that the symptoms of ataxia, tachycardia, and lethargy are present in children who ingest marijuana, and we discuss whether marijuana may have caused a brief seizure in our patient.
    loading  Loading Related Articles