Patients using up to 500 ‘nangs’ a day: Aussie case series
One hospitalisation alone cost the health budget $290,000, the study authors said.
Nitrous oxide abuse is causing severe symptoms from psychosis and hallucinations to spinal cord degeneration, ED doctors report in a case series of 22 Australian patients.
Colloquially known as ‘nangs’, bulbs of nitrous oxide (N₂O) are designed for whipping cream and available for under $1 per canister.
But inhalation provides users with a seconds-long high, and despite the potential for neurological damage, recreational use is increasing.
Clinicians at the Royal Perth Hospital reviewed all Nâ‚‚O-related ED presentations between June 2019 and June 2021.
