Possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the recreational use of nitrous oxide in the Paris area, France.

INTRODUCTION

Recreational use of nitrous oxide (N2O) is increasing in Western countries, including France. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some authors warned that recreational N2O use could increase further as the supply of illicit drugs was impacted by various containment measures.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed N2O exposures reported to the Paris Poison Control Center (France) from 2010/01/01 to 2021/04/15. The Poison Severity Score was used to grade severity.

RESULTS

During the study period, 93 cases of N2O recreational exposures were reported (male/female ratio: 1.1; median age: 20.9 years range: [14.8-49.0]). The first case was reported in 2012, 84/93 (90%) and 65/93 (70%) were reported since 2019 and March 17th 2020 (first lockdown in France) respectively. Most of the patients were symptomatic (88/93; 95%) and developed neurological symptoms (78/93; 84%). Among the fourteen patients who developed moderate to severe symptoms, eleven were reported after March 2020.

CONCLUSION

Despite a marked increase in recreational N2O exposures during the COVID-19 pandemic, the exact impact of COVID-19 on this increase remains to be determined as it was observed from 2019.