Severe rhabdomyolysis associated with catha edulis(khat) use

Abstract

Severe rhabdomyolysis is a rare complication of exposure to the recreational drug khat. Adverse reactions to khat thathave been reported in the literature include myocardial infarction and reversible vasoconstriction syndrome. Theactive ingredient, cathinone, is a naturally occurring beta-ketone amphetamine that may be responsible for this severecatecholaminergic response. Here we report a case of severe rhabdomyolysis following exposure to khat.