Research progress on damages of nervous system caused by nitrous oxide intoxication

Abstract

Nitrous oxide, i. e, laughing gas, a colorless, tasteless gas, can make people lose pain after inhaling, feel euphoria and laugh, still keep a clear consciousness at the same time. It is mainly used as a kind of inhaled analgesic drug in surgical and dental field. Nowadays, more and more cases concerning the abuse of laughing gas have been reported in domestic and overseas, of which the nervous system is primarily damaged. However, the clinicians pay more attentions to its side effects as a kind of inhalation anesthetics, but ignore that more and more young people abuse it for entertainment, leading to poisoning, and ending up with irreversible nervous damages. The article is aiming to introduce the research progresses on the damages of the nervous system caused by laughing gas abuse in the aspects of epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestation, auxiliary examination, diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Key words: Substance-related disorders; Gas poisoning; Nervous system; Nitrous oxide