Hepatitis and Halothane Sniffing

Excerpt

To the editor: Previous reports have reviewed evidence that, in susceptible individuals, exposure to halothane may induce hepatitis or hepatic necrosis by a hypersensitivity reaction (1). This problem is most frequently seen among jaundiced patients after surgery, but an occasional anesthetist has been reported to have had a hypersensitivity reaction to halothane (2).

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We wish to report an unusual manner of exposure to halothane in a man who "sniffed" it weekly to obtain a "high."

The patient, a 26-year-old inmate of a state prison, was referred with nausea, vomiting, jaundice, anorexia, light-colored stools, and tea-colored urine of approximately 1 month's