Symptomatic Profile of Ecuadorian Patients with Withdrawal Syndrome due to Inhaled Heroin Use

Authors

Keywords:

Substance Withdrawal Syndrome, Opioid-Related Disorders, Heroin Dependence, Withdrawal Symptoms, Heroin.

Abstract

Introduction: The symptoms of opioid withdrawal syndrome vary depending on the specific
drug used, adulterants, and route of administration. This study analyzed the symptom profile
of withdrawal syndrome due to inhaled heroin use in Ecuadorian patients, and its relationship
with sex and age.
Objective: Describe the symptom profile of withdrawal syndrome due to inhaled heroin use
and its relationship with sex and age in Ecuadorian patients.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a specialized care unit in
Ecuador from 2018 to 2022. Patients with withdrawal syndrome due to inhaled heroin use
were included. Symptoms were categorized into general, neuropsychiatric, gastrointestinal,
and cardiorespiratory. Associations with sex, age, and year of care were analyzed using the
Chi-square test (p < 0.05).
Results: A total of 983 patients were evaluated, 82 % were male, with a predominance of the
11–18 age group (n = 597). General symptoms predominated in all age groups except those
over 35 years. The most common symptoms were rhinorrhea, anxiety, myalgia, arthralgia,
nausea, vomiting, insomnia, diarrhea, chills, and headache.
Conclusions: The symptom profile of withdrawal syndrome in Ecuadorian inhaled heroin
users was consistent with established clinical patterns, without significant variations among
groups

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Jose Alejandro Valdevila Figueira, 1Institute of Neurosciences, Guayaquil Charity Board, Guayaquil, Ecuador 2Ecotec University, Ecuador 3Psychology and Psychiatry Research Group (GIPSI), Ecuador

Doctor of Medicine, First-Degree Specialist in Psychiatry. Psychiatrist at the Institute of Neurosciences and University Professor at ECOTEC University.

Andrés Ramí­rez Coronel, 3Psychology and Psychiatry Research Group (GIPSI), Ecuador 4 Salesian Polytechnic University, Cuenca, Ecuador

Andrés Ramí­rez Coronel, PhD Clinical Psychologist, Neuropsychologist, and Doctor of Psychology. Scientific Researcher and University Professor.

Indira Dayana Carvajal Parra, 1Institute of Neurosciences, Guayaquil Charity Board, Guayaquil, Ecuador 2Psychology and Psychiatry Research Group (GIPSI), Ecuador

Indira Dayana Carvajal Parra – Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist. Scientific Researcher.

Jimmy Martin Delgado, 1 Alfredo Paulson Specialty Hospital, Guayaquil Charity Board, Ecuador 2 Faculty of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil, Ecuador

Jimmy Daniel Martin Delgado, PhD – Medical Doctor, Master in Public Health. Head of Hospital Research at Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil (JBG).

José Marí­a Durán Pérez, Alfredo Paulson Specialty Hospital, Guayaquil Charity Board, Ecuador

José Marí­a Durán Pérez. Research Analyst Alfredo Paulson Specialty Hospital, Guayaquil Charity Board, Ecuador.

Rocí­o Valdevila Santiesteban, Psychology and Psychiatry Research Group (GIPSI), Ecuador

Rocí­o Valdevila Santiesteban. Researcher at the Psychology and Psychiatry Research Group (GIPSI), Ecuador, with multiple scientific publications.

References

1. Dydyk AM, Jain NK, Gupta M. Opioid Use Disorder. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024. Available in: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553166/

2. World Health Organization. Sobredosis de opioides: Datos y cifras [Internet]. 2024. Available in: https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/opioid-overdose

3. Rodríguez-Kuri SE, Gutiérrez-López AD, Salinas MAR, Fernández-Cáceres C. Tendencias, patrón de consumo y perfil sociodemográfico de usuarios de heroína en tratamiento. Rev Int Investig Adicciones. 2020;6(1). Available in: https://doi.org/10.28931/riiad.2020.1.04

4. Observatorio Europeo de las Drogas y las Toxicomanías, Europol. Informe sobre drogas [Internet]. 2023. Available from: https://www.emcdda.europa.eu

5. Núñez HG. Informe mundial sobre las drogas 2023 - Mensajes clave [Internet]. 2023. Available in: https://policycommons.net/artifacts/7909444/informe-mundial-sobre-las-drogas-2023/8819767/

6. Caamaño-Isorna F, Mota N, Crego A, Corral M, Rodríguez Holguín S, Cadaveira F. Consumption of medicines, alcohol, tobacco and cannabis among university students: A 2-year follow-up. Int J Public Health. 2011;56(3):247–52. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-010-0204-x

7. Rodríguez-Kuri SE, Gutiérrez-López AD, Salinas MAR, Fernández-Cáceres C. Tendencias, patrón de consumo y perfil sociodemográfico de usuarios de heroína en tratamiento. Rev Int Investig Adicciones. 2020;6(1). Available in: https://doi.org/10.28931/riiad.2020.1.04

8. Shah M, Huecker MR. Opioid Withdrawal. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024. Available in: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526012/

9. Carroll JJ, Marshall BD, Rich JD, Green TC. Exposure to fentanyl-contaminated heroin and overdose risk among illicit opioid users in Rhode Island: A mixed methods study. Int J Drug Policy. 2017;46:136–45. Available in: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395917301275

10. Pergolizzi JV Jr, Raffa RB, Rosenblatt MH. Opioid withdrawal symptoms, a consequence of chronic opioid use and opioid use disorder: Current understanding and approaches to management. J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2020;45(5):892–903. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpt.13114

11. Figueira JAV, Valdevila-Santiesteban R, Vázquez MP, Dutazaka MG. Causas y condiciones del uso indebido de drogas en Ecuador. Correo Científico Médico. 2022;26(3). Available in: https://revcocmed.sld.cu/index.php/cocmed/article/view/4009/2203

12. Stolbach A, Hoffman RS. Acute opioid intoxication in adults [Internet]. UpToDate; 2024. Available in: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/acute-opioid-intoxication-in-adults

13. Figueira JAV, Valdevila-Santiesteban R, Carvajal Parra ID, Ramírez-Coronel AA, Vargas LB, Ruiz BJ. Composición química de muestras de heroína incautadas en Ecuador. Rev Hosp Psiquiátrico Habana. 2023;20(3). Available in: https://revhph.sld.cu/index.php/hph/article/view/406

14. Ministerio de Salud Pública del Ecuador. Prevención y Tratamiento para consumo problemático de alcohol, tabaco y otras drogas [Internet]. 2021. Available in: https://www.salud.gob.ec/prevencion-y-tratamiento-para-consumo-de-alcohol-tabaco-y-otras-drogas/

15. R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing [Internet]. Version 4.4.2. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing; 2024. Available in: https://www.r-project.org/

16. Bluthenthal R, Simpson K, Ceasar R, Zhao J, Wenger L, Kral A. Opioid withdrawal symptoms, frequency, and pain characteristics as correlates of health risk among people who inject drugs. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2020;107932. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.107932

17. Valdevila-Figueira JA, Valdevila-Santiesteban R, Roche JRF, Paz-Wactson S, Vázquez MP, Dutazaka MG. Caracterización epidemiológica de los drogodependientes ecuatorianos. Rev Hosp Psiquiátrico Habana. 2022;19(1):207. Available in: https://revhph.sld.cu/index.php/hph/article/view/207

18. de Camargo KR Jr, Kapadia F. The global opioid overdose crisis. Am J Public Health. 2022;112(S2):S93. Available in: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306816

19. Vunikili R, Glicksberg BS, Johnson KW, Dudley JT, Subramanian L, Shameer K. Predictive modelling of susceptibility to substance abuse, mortality and drug-drug interactions in opioid patients. Front Artif Intell. 2021;4:742723. Available in: https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2021.742723

20. Sapkota P, Mattoo SK, Mahintamani T, Ghosh A. Síntomas depresivos en la abstinencia temprana de alcohol u opioides: curso y correlaciones. J Addict Dis. 2022;40(1):35–46. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1080/10550887.2021.1925617

21. Gupta M, Gokarakonda SB, Regina AC, Attia FN. Síndromes de abstinencia. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024. Available in: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29083712/

22. Carswell N, Angermaier G, Castaneda C, Delgado F. Management of opioid withdrawal and initiation of medications for opioid use disorder in the hospital setting. Hosp Pract. 2022;50(4):251–8. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1080/21548331.2022.2102776.2

23. Observatorio Europeo de las Drogas y las Toxicomanías, Europol. Informe sobre drogas [Internet]. 2023. Available in: https://www.emcdda.europa.eu

24. MSD Manual. Opioid toxicity and withdrawal [Internet]. Kenilworth (NJ): Merck & Co., Inc.; 2024 [cited 2024 Dec 22]. Available in: https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/special-subjects/illicit-drugs-and-intoxicants/opioid-toxicity-and-withdrawal

Downloads

Published

2025-05-27

How to Cite

1.
Figueira JAV, Ramí­rez Coronel A, Carvajal Parra ID, Martin Delgado J, Durán Pérez JM, Valdevila Santiesteban R. Symptomatic Profile of Ecuadorian Patients with Withdrawal Syndrome due to Inhaled Heroin Use. Rev. Hosp. Psiq. Habana [Internet]. 2025 May 27 [cited 2025 Sep. 8];22. Available from: https://revhph.sld.cu/index.php/hph/article/view/737

Issue

Vol. 22 (2025): Publicación continua

Section

Sección de Adicciones

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Jose Alejandro Valdevila Figueira, Andrés Ramírez Coronel, Indira Dayana Carvajal Parra, Jimmy Martin Delgado, José María Durán Pérez, Rocío Valdevila Santiesteban

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.