A rise in cases of nitrous oxide abuse: neurological complications and biological findings.

Background: The recent lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to a higher incidence of psychiatric manifestations and substance abuse. The recreative use of nitrous oxide is more and more widespread and neurological complications are frequent.

Methods: We report clinical characteristics and biological findings of five consecutive patients presenting to our tertiary care center between April 2020 and February 2021 with various neurological symptoms occurring after recent nitrous oxide abuse.