Cocaine

Clinical Manifestations

Crack Lung

• A characteristic acute pulmonary syndrome following smoking of crack cocaine
• Fever, dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, and hemoptysis within 48 hours of crack cocaine inhalation
• Imaging shows diffuse bilateral alveolar infiltrates, interlobular septal thickening, peribronchial nodules, ground-glass opacities, and non-specific consolidation
• Can progress to hypoxemic respiratory failure
• Cocaine inhalation can also cause a chronic, subclinical diffuse alveolar hemorrhage