Breath-holding in a marijuana smoker

Respir Med Case Rep. 2012:5:69-72. doi: 10.1016/j.rmedc.2011.07.008. Epub 2011 Nov 4.

Abstract

It is vital to ask about illicit drug smoking in the respiratory history as marijuana smoking augments the detrimental effects of tobacco. We describe the case of a 28 year old marijuana smoker who developed a pneumothorax during a breath-holding competition. Pneumothorax is a common clinical entity that every physician should be aware of how to manage and lifetime risk is considerably increased by smoking and in exposure to barotrauma.

Keywords: Barotrauma; CT, Computerised tomography; Marijuana; PTx, Pneumothorax; Pneumothorax.