Kratom Dependence in Adolescents: Is Methadone A Lifesaver?

Authors

  • Nawal Nabilah Kamaludin Department of Family Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia
  • Mohd Ariff Mohd Noor Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
  • Rosediani Muhamad Department of Family Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
  • Zainab Mat Yudin Department of Family Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
  • Nur Ilyani Mohamed Nawi Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/bjms.v20i3.52816

Keywords:

Adolescent health; kratom dependence; methadone; mitragyna speciose

Abstract

Kratom dependence among adolescent, even though underreported, is increasing in prevalence in Southeast Asia. Kratom can be simply misused with a great possible addiction and subsequently cause serious undesirable physical and mental health consequences, which is not something to be taken lightly. We present three case series of late adolescents who consumed kratom for more than six months, which leads to poor school performance and had already developed withdrawal symptoms. This case series illustrates the effectiveness of treating adolescents with kratom dependency using combination of medical therapy - Methadone as Drug Substitution Therapy (DST) and supportive therapy from their family members. Therefore, it is crucial for primary care practitioners to screen the adolescents and alert the withdrawal symptoms as well as initiating early discussion with psychiatrist in order to start the prompt treatment since DST is available in primary care clinic.

Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.20(3) 2021 p.673-677

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Published

2021-04-04

How to Cite

Kamaludin, N. N., Mohd Noor, M. A., Muhamad, R., Yudin, Z. M., & Mohamed Nawi, N. I. (2021). Kratom Dependence in Adolescents: Is Methadone A Lifesaver?. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science, 20(3), 673–677. https://doi.org/10.3329/bjms.v20i3.52816

Issue

Vol. 20 No. 3 (2021)

Section

Case Reports

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