Citation

Rich SA, Libera JM, Locke RJ. Ann. Emerg. Med. 1993; 22(12): 1904-1907.

Affiliation

Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, FF Thompson Hospital, Canandaigua, New York.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, American College of Emergency Physicians, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8239114

Abstract

A 22-year-old man presented to our emergency department after an intentional overdose of a homemade foxglove extract. Clinical symptoms with symptomatic bradyarrhythmia and ECG changes were consistent with cardiac glycoside poisoning. Treatment with digoxin-specific Fab fragments resulted in transient clinical and ECG improvement. Serum immunoassay demonstrated a digitoxin-like glycoside. The serum levels showed no evidence of altered elimination or distribution with Fab therapy despite temporary improvements in the clinical course. The use of Fab did not result in a shortened clinical course in this episode of foxglove poisoning, as one would expect in the setting of commercial glycoside product poisoning.

Language: en