Acute myocardial infarction following the use of intranasal anesthetic cocaine

The use of cocaine has become largely obsolete in modern medical practice; however, it is still used by otolaryngologists for topical anesthesia in head and neck surgeries. We present the case of a 68-year-old woman who developed a myocardial infarction after the use of topical cocaine during nasal sinus surgery, and review the literature regarding the use of cocaine as a topical anesthetic in otolaryngologic practice. Awareness is raised of a possible complication of myocardial infarction following topical cocaine anesthetic use.