Acute toxic herbal intake in a suicide attempt and fatal refractory ventricular arrhythmia.

Abstract

This report involves a 54-year-old man who died following refractory ventricular fibrillation after ingestion of a plant in a suicide attempt. Repeated direct-current cardioversions were unsuccessful and no single anti-arrhythmic agent was effective for arrhythmia control. The routine blood toxicological screening was negative. Aconitine, the main toxin of Aconitum napellus was identified using a specific liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method. The whole blood concentration (24 microg/l) was higher than those reported in other aconitine-related deaths. The patient had found information about the life-threatening nature of such a toxic herb intake on a free medical encyclopedia online.

• Authors: Antoine Strzelecki, Nicolas Pichon, Jean M Gaulier, Jean B Amiel, Pauline Champy, Marc Clavel
• Journal: Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology (Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol) Vol. 107 Issue 2 Pg. 698-9 (Aug 2010) ISSN: 1742-7843 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 20353487 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Plant Preparations
• Aconitine

Topics

• Aconitine (blood, chemistry, poisoning)
• Aconitum (chemistry, poisoning)
• Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
• Fatal Outcome
• Forensic Toxicology (methods)
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Plant Poisoning (etiology)
• Plant Preparations (chemistry, poisoning)
• Plants, Toxic (chemistry, poisoning)
• Suicide
• Tandem Mass Spectrometry
• Ventricular Fibrillation (chemically induced, physiopathology)