A case of severe colchicine intoxication progressing to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome: Case report

• Published in: Journal of the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine Vol. 4; no. 3; pp. 215 - 219
• Main Authors: Kameue, Takashi, Gando, Satoshi, Igarashi, Miyuki, Makise, Hiroshi, Matsubara, Izumi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine 1997
• Subjects: colchicine intoxication; multiple organ dysfunction syndrome
• ISSN: 1340-7988; 1882-966X
• DOI: 10.3918/jsicm.4.215

A 16-year-old female who had taken approximately 1g of colchicine developed severe colchicine intoxication that progressed to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Three hours post ingestion abdominal pain and numbness of the extremities occurred. During the several hours before seeking medical attention these symptoms worsened progressively, and she was referred to the emergency room of our institution 32 hours post ingestion. Laboratory studies revealed hypoxia, metabolic acidosis, multiple organ dysfunction, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. The patient was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) and administered dopamine. Eight hours later, continuous hemodiafiltration was performed due to oliguria. Twenty six hours after admission to the ICU, the patient experienced sudden-onset convulsion and circulatory collapse; cardiac arrest occurred after 28 hours in the ICU. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 3 hours did not result in the recovery of spontaneous circulation. The symptoms of colchicine overdose are severe, and treatment is extremely difficult, as illustrated by the case described here.