<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec id="j_jccm-2020-0016_s_005_w2aab3b7c14b1b6b1aab1c15b1Aa"><h3>Background</h3><p>Aconite is one of the most toxic known herbs, widely used for centuries as an essential Chinese medicine, but also for deliberate poisoning throughout history. Clinically indicated in herbal medicine for a range of ailments from headaches to muscle spasm, unfortunately the narrow therapeutic window may lead to a range of toxic presentations. The mechanism of action of the pharmacologically active compounds in Aconite relate to the activation of voltage gated sodium channels within a range of tissue including myocardial, neuronal and smooth muscle leading to persistent cellular activity.</p></sec><sec id="j_jccm-2020-0016_s_006_w2aab3b7c14b1b6b1aab1c15b2Aa"><h3>Case presentation</h3><p>We report on a rare case of a fifty year old male with intentional aconite overdose presenting with refractory cardiovascular instability from persistent life threatening arrhythmias, respiratory failure and seizure activity.</p></sec><sec id="j_jccm-2020-0016_s_007_w2aab3b7c14b1b6b1aab1c15b3Aa"><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>An overview of Aconite, its history, pharmacological effects, treatment of overdose and outcomes is presented.</p></sec></abstract>

BackgroundAconite is one of the most toxic known herbs, widely used for centuries as an essential Chinese medicine, but also for deliberate poisoning throughout history. Clinically indicated in herbal medicine for a range of ailments from headaches to muscle spasm, unfortunately the narrow therapeutic window may lead to a range of toxic presentations. The mechanism of action of the pharmacologically active compounds in Aconite relate to the activation of voltage gated sodium channels within a range of tissue including myocardial, neuronal and smooth muscle leading to persistent cellular activity.Case presentationWe report on a rare case of a fifty year old male with intentional aconite overdose presenting with refractory cardiovascular instability from persistent life threatening arrhythmias, respiratory failure and seizure activity.ConclusionAn overview of Aconite, its history, pharmacological effects, treatment of overdose and outcomes is presented.

An Intentional Aconite Overdose: A Case Report

The Journal of Critical Care Medicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

{"article-title":"An Intentional Aconite Overdose: A Case Report"}

BackgroundAconite is one of the most toxic known herbs, widely used for centuries as an essential Chinese medicine, but also for deliberate poisoning...

An Intentional Aconite Overdose: A Case Report

Article Category: Case report

Published Online: May 06, 2020

Page range: 124 - 129

Received: Feb 23, 2020

Accepted: Mar 22, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jccm-2020-0016

Keywords
Aconite, cardiovascular

© 2020 Christopher Wood, James Coulson, John Thompson, Stephen Bonner, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

An Intentional Aconite Overdose: A Case Report

Article Category: Case report

Published Online: May 06, 2020

Page range: 124 - 129

Received: Feb 23, 2020

Accepted: Mar 22, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jccm-2020-0016

KeywordsAconite, cardiovascular

© 2020 Christopher Wood, James Coulson, John Thompson, Stephen Bonner, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Aconite, cardiovascular