Citation

Semb SO, Jacobsen D. Tidsskr. Nor. Laegeforen. 1996; 116(4): 478-480.

Vernacular Title

Forgiftning med klorokin.

Affiliation

Akuttmedisinsk avdeling, Medisinsk klinikk, Ullevål sykehus, Oslo.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, Norske Laegeforening)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8644048

Abstract

More travel abroad and changes in the prevalence of malaria have made chloroquine more widely prescribed for prophylaxis and treatment. Acute chloroquine poisoning is life threatening, involving high risk of death caused by cardiac arrest, arrhythmia and apnoea within a few hours of ingestion. Rapid absorption of the drug from the gastrointestinal tract, and high toxicity, produce the sudden clinical symptoms after overdose. We describe the case of a 16 year-old woman who ingested 1.95 grams of chloroquine base. After an initially short period of apnoea, she was successfully treated with mechanical ventilation and large doses of diazepam. Plasma chloroquine levels showed an initial peak of 6.7 mumol/l. The pharmacokinetics of the drug and its major metabolite, the clinical features of an overdose of chloroquine and the principles of treatment are discussed.

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