Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital saves 3 sisters in critical condition due to drug poisoning
(Baonghean.vn) - Three children, who are siblings in Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province, mistakenly took antidepressants meant for adults, and their health conditions became very bad, and their lives were seriously threatened.
On January 8, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital received and provided emergency care to 3 children in Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province. These 3 children are siblings. NTHP (13 years old) is the oldest, followed by 2 children NHA (8 years old) and NGB (63 months). All 3 children came to the hospital in a state of respiratory failure, convulsions, and coma. Their lives were seriously threatened.
According to the family, the three children had mistakenly taken amitriptyline to treat depression of an adult in the family. When the parents discovered the incident, all three children fell into a coma and had convulsions.
At the time of admission, NHA and NTHP were in a state of respiratory failure, convulsions, and coma; both pupils were dilated 4mm, and light reflexes were poor. Particularly critical was that NGB had stopped breathing and circulating.
Immediately, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital performed CPR and NGB's heart rate returned. All 3 patients were intubated, had their stomachs washed, and were given activated charcoal right at the Emergency Department and were transferred to the Intensive Care and Anti-Poisoning Department for further treatment.
Determining that the death threat to all three children was very high, on the night of January 8, doctors at Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital held an interdisciplinary and inter-hospital consultation with doctors at the National Children's Hospital and Bach Mai Poison Control Center to agree on a treatment regimen.
With the condition being so severe, the doctors decided that they could not transfer all 3 children to another hospital because the risk of death on the way was very high. The 3 children received intensive treatment: mechanical ventilation, alkalinization of blood and urine with bicarbonate solution, lipid infusion, maintenance of vasomotor function, and hemodynamic control.
During the treatment, all 3 patients developed arrhythmia. In particular, NGB developed ventricular fibrillation, requiring multiple cardioversions and maintenance of antiarrhythmic drugs.
With the doctors' relentless efforts, after 4 days of treatment, the condition of the two children, NHA and NTHP, improved. The two children were taken off the ventilator, no longer had disturbances of consciousness, were alert and were discharged from the hospital on January 16. Next, NGB was also removed from the endotracheal tube, taken off the ventilator and gradually became alert, moved well, had no more arrhythmia and was recently discharged./.
According to doctors: Amitriptyline is a commonly used tricyclic antidepressant. However, the drug has a dangerous toxic dose when the content exceeds 10mg/kg due to toxic effects on the cardiovascular system and central nervous system causing severe complications. Most tricyclic antidepressant poisoning is acute poisoning, clinically very difficult to predict, can turn critical very quickly within a few hours after being brought to the emergency room and can cause death due to arrhythmia, hypotension or uncontrolled seizures.
