Venlafaxine pharmacobezoar causing intestinal ischemia requiring emergent hemicolectomy

Clinical and Forensic Aspects of Pharmacobezoars

BACKGROUND

Pharmacobezoars are specific types of bezoars formed when medicines, such as tablets, suspensions, and/or drug delivery systems, aggregate and may cause death by occluding airways with tenacious material or by eluting drugs resulting in toxic or lethal blood concentrations.

OBJECTIVE

This work aims to fully review the state-of-the-art regarding pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and other relevant clinical and forensic features of pharmacobezoars.

RESULTS

Patients of a wide range of ages and of both sexes present with signs and symptoms of intoxications or more commonly gastrointestinal obstructions. The exact mechanisms of pharmacobezoar formation are unknown but are likely multifactorial. The diagnosis and treatment depend on the gastrointestinal segment affected and should be personalized to the medication and the underlying factor. A good and complete history, physical examination, image tests, upper endoscopy, and surgery through laparotomy of the lower tract are useful for diagnosis and treatment.

CONCLUSION

Pharmacobezoars are rarely seen in clinical and forensic practice. They are related to controlled or immediate-release formulations, liquid, or non-digestible substances, in normal or altered digestive motility/anatomy tract, and in overdoses or therapeutic doses, and should be suspected in the presence of risk factors or patients taking drugs which may form pharmacobezoars.

Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation After Diphenhydramine Ingestion

INTRODUCTION

Diphenhydramine is a widely used first-generation histamine (H₁) antagonist that can be obtained without prescription in many countries. Massive ingestions can result in severe toxicity and even death. We describe a case of diphenhydramine overdose leading to cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) cannulation for refractory ventricular fibrillation, a process we refer to as extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR).

CASE REPORT

Responding to a call for altered mental status, emergency medical service (EMS) personnel found an unconscious and seizing 17-year-old male. He had reportedly developed generalized tonic-clonic seizures and dysrhythmias after ingesting approximately 800 25-mg diphenhydramine tablets. He was transferred to our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) after stabilization at a local emergency center. After approximately 7 hours of clinical stability and normalization of cardiac rhythm, electrolytes, and acidosis, he developed renewed seizure activity and accelerated ventricular rhythm leading to hemodynamic collapse and cardiac arrest. He was cannulated for veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VAECMO) with CPR in progress. A pharmacobezoar located in his stomach was presumed to be the cause of his biphasic clinical deterioration. After 5 days, the patient was successfully weaned from ECMO support. Ten days later, his convalescence continued in the step-down unit and was discharged with good functional outcome.

DISCUSSION

Significant ingestion of anticholinergic substances is often fatal. This case describes a favorable outcome after ECPR and aggressive supportive management following a large intentional overdose of diphenhydramine.

[Paediatric pharmacobezoar in vitamin overdose]

BACKGROUND

Pharmacobezoars are aggregates of undigested medications that accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract and can cause obstructive or toxic complications. In this paper, the first case is reported of a paediatric pharmacobezoar formation after a vitamin overdose. The objective of this report is to prevent the occurrence of this complication and the action to be taken.

CLINIC CASE

A 6-year-old child, 6h after ingesting 40 chewable tablets of a hydrophobic vitamin E with high capacity to form a pharmacobezoar, underwent urgent oesophagogastroscopy. A viscoelastic mass of 10×4cm was observed stretching from the cardia to the greater curvature. Seventy-five percent of the mass was removed and the remainder was fragmented, hydrated and aspirated. The patient remains asymptomatic to date.

CONCLUSIONS

An overdose of hydrophobic drugs can produce a bezoar formation therefore prompt evacuation is recommended with an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, which is a safe and effective technique in gastric bezoars.