Journal of Clinical Case Reports

Passive Cannabis Smoking Resulting in a Coma in a 16 Month Old Infant

Abstract

Ahemd Refat Ragab and Maha Khald Al-Mazroua

We report on 16-month-old infant who was admitted to hospital with severe neurological symptoms following passive inhalation of cannabis. To our knowledge and after deep surveying in the literature, we believe that this is one of the few reported clinical case of the acute severe toxicity after passive inhalation of cannabis smoke by an infant. Urine and serum THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) Δ9-THC concentrations of 230 and 112 ng/ml were detected. This case report highlights the importance of considering cannabis ingestion in the differential diagnosis of infantile and toddler coma. Moreover, facing the increasing number of cannabis smokers such cases might be more prevalent and therefore physicians, health workers and parents should be alerted about the health hazards of cannabis substances abuse in the presence of children.