International Clinical and Medical Case Reports Journal (ISSN: 2832-5788) | Volume 2, Issue 15 | Case Report | Open Access
Saba Suleman*
Internal Medicine, Baylor Scott & White All Saints, Fort Worth, USA
*Correspondence to: Saba Suleman
Fulltext PDFKratom, a topical evergreen tree in the coffee family, originates from Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea. It’s traditionally used to manage pain, boost energy, and even as a substitute for opium. Kratom is commonly ingested orally, and historically, fresh leaves were chewed or brewed into tea. Its leaves, containing psychoactive compounds similar to opioids, are used both medicinally and recreationally. Modern commercial products include pastes, capsules, and powders. Kratom contains more than 40 alkaloids, mainly mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine. They act as partial agonists at mu opioid receptors and antagonists at delta and kappa receptors; this dual property leads to varying CNS effects: stimulant-like at low doses, morphine-like sedation at high doses. In the U.S., there are no uses for kratom that are Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved. There are warnings against its use due to potential side effects, including gastrointestinal disturbances, mental and neurologic effects, heart and lung problems, and liver problems. Amidst the many adverse effects, hyperpigmentation is commonly mentioned in the limited literature surrounding Kratom. There are currently only four case reports describing patients experiencing generalized hyperpigmentation on photodistributed areas after chronic kratom use. Here we present a case of a 32-year-old Caucasian male with a two-year history of slowly progressing skin discoloration on the hands, arms, neck and face and a long-standing history of kratom supplement use.
Photodistributed; Chronic kratom; Hyperpigmentation
Suleman S, Khan R, Ioffe DOB, Chisholm C.Photodistributed Hyperpigmentation in a Chronic Kratom User. Int Clinc Med Case Rep Jour. 2023;2(15):1-5.