Complete heart block and death following lamotrigine overdose
Loren K French1, Nathanael J McKeown, Robert G Hendrickson
1Emergency Department, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland 97239-3098, USA. frenchk@ohsu.edu
Abstract:
CONTEXT. Lamotrigine is used for both seizure and psychiatric disorders. Overdoses typically follow a benign course. CASE DETAILS. A 19-year-old male with bipolar disorder ingested 4 g of lamotrigine. The patient suffered from multiple seizures, charcoal aspiration, respiratory arrest, prolongation of the QRS interval on electrocardiogram, complete heart block, multiorgan failure and ultimately death. DISCUSSION. We describe the emergency department (ED) and ICU course for this patient and briefly review the toxic effects of lamotrigine and the pharmacokinetics with and without hemodialysis.
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