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Cardiovascular medication exposures and poisonings in Izmir, Turkey: a 14-year experience

Sule Kalkan1, Nil Hocaoglu, Kubilay Oransay

  • 1Department of Pharmacology, Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine, Inciralti, Izmir, Turkey. sule.kalkan@deu.edu.tr

Human & Experimental Toxicology
|May 22, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Cardiovascular medication (CVM) overdose cases were analyzed, revealing that antihypertensives, particularly calcium channel and beta-blockers, were most common. Accidental poisoning occurred in young children, while suicide attempts were prevalent in young adults.

Area of Science:

  • Emergency Medicine
  • Clinical Toxicology
  • Cardiology

Background:

  • Cardiovascular medications (CVMs) are widely used but pose risks when misused or overdosed.
  • Unconscious CVM use can lead to severe health consequences, including fatalities.
  • Understanding CVM exposure profiles is crucial for developing preventive strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the demographic and clinical profile of patients admitted for CVM exposures.
  • To identify the types of CVMs most frequently involved in poisoning cases.
  • To determine the reasons for CVM exposure and associated clinical outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 105 CVM poisoning cases admitted to the Emergency Medicine Department.
  • Data collected included patient demographics, medication type, exposure route, reason for exposure, clinical effects, and outcomes.
  • Analysis focused on age groups, gender, and specific CVM classes.

Main Results:

  • Females constituted the majority (77.1%) of CVM exposure cases.
  • Accidental poisoning was most common in children aged 0-6 (64.3%), while suicide attempts predominated in the 19-29 age group (47.8%).
  • Calcium channel blockers (19.7%), beta-blockers (17.3%), and ACE inhibitors/diuretics (11.8%) were the most frequent CVMs involved. Most patients (59.1%) were asymptomatic, with altered consciousness being the most common symptom (18.6%).

Conclusions:

  • Antihypertensive drugs are the primary cause of CVM exposures.
  • Age-specific patterns exist for accidental vs. intentional CVM poisoning.
  • Further multi-centered studies are recommended to establish national epidemiological data and inform preventive measures for CVM exposures.

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