Citation

Bologa C, Lionte C, Popescu A, Sorodoc V, Sorodoc L. Healthcare (Basel) 2021; 9(6): e9060671.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/healthcare9060671

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Acute antiarrhythmics poisoning represents a challenge in the Emergency Department (ED). These patients often develop malignant arrhythmias in need of exceptional therapeutic measures in the ICU. We report a 47-year-old patient admitted to the ED 5 h after the ingestion of a large dose of amiodarone and flecainide in a suicide attempt. During their ED stay, the patient developed signs of cardiotoxicity evidenced by electrocardiogram and ventricular arrhythmias. The toxicological results showed a level of 4.8 mg/L amiodarone and 2.98 mg/L flecainide. He was successfully treated in the ED using a large dose of sodium bicarbonate and lipid emulsion therapy. After hospital admission, he remained stable, with no need for exceptional therapeutic measures such as mechanical circulatory support, cardiac pacing or ECMO. We emphasize the importance of an early start of pharmacological therapies in the ED, which might improve the outcome in antiarrhythmic acute poisoning.

Language: en

Keywords

poisoning; suicide; Emergency Department; amiodarone; cardiotoxicity; flecainide; lipid emulsion therapy