[State of shock during acute meprobamate poisoning. 6 cases]

The prognosis of acute meprobamate poisoning is related to shock whose haemodynamic mechanism remains obscure. We report the results of a retrospective study of six patients with meprobamate poisoning associated with shock and explored by a right heart catheterization. The age of the patients, five women and one man, ranged from 36 to 57 years. Five patients had also ingested other psychotropic drugs. A haemodynamic investigation was performed at admission to the ICU and three hours later, under treatment. Vasoplegia was the predominant feature. A myocardial dysfunction was sometimes associated, which can be explained by a moderate hypothermia. According to these results, we suggest that prior to right heart catheterization, the treatment should include inotropic and alphamimetic agents and that vascular filling should be cautious.