Herb-induced cardiotoxicity from accidental aconitine overdose

Cardiotoxicity after accidental herb-induced aconite poisoning.

Aconitine and its related alkaloids are known cardiotoxins with no therapeutic role in modern western medicine. The rootstocks of Aconitum plants, which contain aconite alkaloids, have been common components of Chinese herbal recipes. We have documented life-threatening intoxication in 17 Chinese subjects after accidental herb-induced aconite poisoning. All patients developed symptoms of aconit...

Recovery from blindness following accidental quinine overdose

CASE A 46-year-old woman presented with sudden loss of vision in both eyes, apparent since waking. She also complained of partial hearing loss. The previous evening she had experienced difficulty sleeping due to (long-standing) restless legs and had self-medicated with quinine, taking an accidental overdose of 1.8 g. On admission, she was alert but unable to perceive light in either eye, and ha...

Accidental intrathecal methotrexate overdose.

Etiology of accidental/unexpected overdose in drug-induced deaths.

The life-threatening risk for drug addicts is the accidental/unexpected overdose (in Germany mostly caused by opiates). The problem of drug addiction, which encompasses all aspects of the individual's life, is accompanied by the additional negative reinforcement of the permanent danger of a sudden fatal outcome. The causes for an accidental fatal intoxication originate from the different qualit...

Aconitine-induced cardiac arrhythmia.

Renewed interest in the pharmacological action of aconitine has followed the work of Sherf (1947), Prinzmetal et al. (1950 and 1951), and Brown and Acheson (1952). Its use in experimental medicine produces stimulus formation in the dog's heart with auricular tachycardia and in certain circumstances ventricular tachycardia and fibrillation: it has become a useful tool in the hands of the researc...