PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Eleanor Jones
AU  - Udayaraj Umasankar
AU  - Habeeba Mallu
AU  - Timothy Hampton
AU  - Angela Kulendran
AU  - Mehool Patel
TI  - Lesson of the month: Oxycodone-induced leukoencephalopathy: a rare diagnosis
AID  - 10.7861/clinmed.2020-06500-0-0
DP  - 2020 Nov 01
TA  - Clinical Medicine
PG  - 600--602
VI  - 20
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/20/6/600.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/20/6/600.full
SO  - Clin Med2020 Nov 01; 20
AB  - Oxycodone-induced leukoencephalopathy is a rare diagnosis that should be considered in unconscious patients with appropriate history. We describe a case of a 57-year-old unconscious woman who required intubation and did not respond to naloxone infusion. The unconsciousness was initially thought to be due to hypoxic brain injury. However, a further review of brain imaging showed characteristic features of oxycodone-induced leukoencephalopathy. We describe the pathological and radiological features of this condition, and provide a concise review of the limited literature on this condition. Accurate diagnosis of this condition will be valuable to clinicians and patients in terms of their medium-term and long-term prognosis, and potential for rehabilitation.