Cardiopulmonary arrest following an infusion of calcium 2-amino ethanol phosphate

The intravenous infusion of calcium 2-amino ethanol phosphate was coincidental with cardiopulmonary arrest in a 53-year-old woman with a history of multiple sclerosis. Resuscitation was followed by massive hemolysis, renal failure, adult respiratory distress syndrome, shock liver, and disseminated intravascular coagulation. This agent, in use by at least one practitioner in West Germany for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders is not FDA approved for use in the United States, nor is clinical investigation underway. It is currently thought to be in use by about 200 practitioners throughout this country as treatment for multiple sclerosis. It is apparently obtained in West Germany and brought illegally into the United States. This is the first known report of an adverse drug reaction associated with the use of this product.