937
Views
53
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Short report

Serum verapamil concentrations before and after Intralipid® therapy during treatment of an overdose

, , , , , & show all
Pages 340-344 | Received 28 Jan 2011, Accepted 12 Mar 2011, Published online: 12 May 2011
 

Abstract

Context. Intralipid® infusion is useful in reversing cardiac and central nervous system toxicity of local anesthetic drugs, and recent reports suggest utility in other drug overdoses. Case details. A 47-year-old man presented to the emergency department with hypotension and complete heart block 3 h after a sustained-release verapamil overdose. He was given supportive care including calcium and hyperinsulinemia/euglycemia therapy. Nineteen and 29 h post-ingestion, Intralipid® was administered as a bolus, followed by an infusion. Objective. The objective of this study was to determine the serum verapamil concentrations before and after Intralipid® administration and to ascertain its clinical effects. Discussion. It was found that administration of Intralipid® was followed by a decrease in verapamil concentration once the lipid had been removed from the sample, demonstrating that Intralipid® was effective in sequestering verapamil, effectively removing it from the serum, and supporting its use in the treatment of verapamil overdose. Intralipid® administration was associated with an increase in the patient’s blood pressure, but because other vasoactive drugs were given at the same time, it was difficult to determine its relative contribution to clinical improvement.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.