Herb-induced cardiotoxicity from accidental aconitine overdose

Patients who overdose on aconite can present with life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia. Aconite must be prepared and used with caution to avoid cardiotoxic effects that can be fatal. We herein describe a case of a patient who had an accidental aconite overdose but survived with no lasting effects...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSingapore medical journal Vol. 56; no. 7; pp. e116 - e119
Main Authors Sheth, Sujata, Tan, Elaine Ching Ching, Tan, Hock Heng, Tay, Leslie
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Singapore Singapore Medical Association 01.07.2015
Subjects
Aconitine - poisoning
Adult
Anti-Arrhythmia Agents - therapeutic use
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
Cardiotoxicity
Case Report
Drug Overdose
Drugs, Chinese Herbal - poisoning
Electric Countershock
Electrocardiography
Humans
Male
Tachycardia - chemically induced
Tachycardia, Ventricular - chemically induced
Treatment Outcome
Ventricular Fibrillation - chemically induced
aconitine herb
overdose
cardiotoxic
aconite
bidirectional ventricular tachycardia
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Summary:Patients who overdose on aconite can present with life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia. Aconite must be prepared and used with caution to avoid cardiotoxic effects that can be fatal. We herein describe a case of a patient who had an accidental aconite overdose but survived with no lasting effects. The patient had prepared Chinese herbal medication to treat his pain, which resulted in an accidental overdose of aconite with cardiotoxic and neurotoxic effects. The patient had ventricular tachycardia, bidirectional ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. Following treatment with anti-arrhythmic medications, defibrillation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, he made an uneventful recovery, with no further cardiac arrhythmias reported.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Case Study-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-4
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ObjectType-Report-1
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ISSN:0037-5675
DOI:10.11622/smedj.2015114