Is the Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump a Method of Brain Protection During Cardiogenic Shock After Drug Intoxication?

Kardiyovasküler ilaç zehirlenmelerinin ileriye dönük analizi

Purpose: The aim of this study is to provide data about diagnosis, treatment, and results of the patients poisoned by drugs affecting the cardiovascular system. Materials and Methods: Patients aged 18 and over who applied to the emergency department with drug poisoning affecting cardiovasculer system were included in the study. The demographic data, drugs and doses, emergency treatment and the time of development of shock or bradycardia, treatment, antidotes and invasive procedures were recorded. Results: In our study twenty-five patients, 8 (32 %) male and 17 (68 %) female, were included. At the admission, 56 % (n=14) had hypotension, 8 % (n=2) had bradycardia, at the second hour 76 % (n=19) had hypotension, 16 % (n=4) had bradycardia. Within 6 hours after admission, 80 % (n=20) patients had hypotension, 28 % (n=7) patients had bradycardia at least once. Fifty-two percent (n=13) of the patients calcium, 36 % (n=9) glukagon, 32 % (n=8) lipid, 12 % (n=3) atropine, 20 % (n=5) positive inotropes were given. Conclusion: Lipid therapy produces positive results in patients who did not improve with calcium, glucagon and fluid therapy. Patients who received calcium channel blockers experienced more cardiogenic shock and bradycardia was more common in patients receiving beta-blockers.

Comparison of Effects of Separate and Combined Sugammadex and Lipid Emulsion Administration on Hemodynamic Parameters and Survival in a Rat Model of Verapamil Toxicity

BACKGROUND

Toxicity of calcium channel blockers leads to high patient mortality and there is no effective antidote. The benefit of using 20% lipid emulsion and sugammadex has been reported. The present study measured the effect of sugammadex and 20% lipid emulsion on hemodynamics and survival in a rat model of verapamil toxicity.

MATERIAL/METHODS

In this single-blinded randomized control study, rats were separated into 4 groups of 7 rats each: Sugammadex (S), Sugammadex plus 20% lipid emulsion (SL), 20% lipid emulsion (L), and control (C). Heart rates and mean arterial pressures were monitored and noted each minute until death.

RESULTS

Average time to death was 21.0±9.57 minutes for group C, 35.57±10.61 minutes for group S, 37.14±16.6 minutes for group L and 49.86±27.56 minutes for group SL. Time to death was significantly longer in other groups than in the control group (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Verapamil overdose is has a comparatively high mortality rate and there is no effective antidote. Treatment generally involves gastric decontamination and symptomatic treatment to counteract the drug's negative effects. In animal studies sugammadex and lipid emulsion had a positive effect on survival in patients with calcium channel blocker toxicity. Sugammadex and intralipid increased survival in a rat model of verapamil toxicity. The combination of both drugs may decrease cardiotoxicity. Sugammadex alone or combined with 20% lipid emulsion reduce the need for inotropic agents. The mechanism requires clarification with larger studies.

Treatment for calcium channel blocker poisoning: a systematic review

CONTEXT

Calcium channel blocker poisoning is a common and sometimes life-threatening ingestion.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the reported effects of treatments for calcium channel blocker poisoning. The primary outcomes of interest were mortality and hemodynamic parameters. The secondary outcomes included length of stay in hospital, length of stay in intensive care unit, duration of vasopressor use, functional outcomes, and serum calcium channel blocker concentrations.

METHODS

Medline/Ovid, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, TOXLINE, International pharmaceutical abstracts, Google Scholar, and the gray literature up to December 31, 2013 were searched without time restriction to identify all types of studies that examined effects of various treatments for calcium channel blocker poisoning for the outcomes of interest. The search strategy included the following Keywords: [calcium channel blockers OR calcium channel antagonist OR calcium channel blocking agent OR (amlodipine or bencyclane or bepridil or cinnarizine or felodipine or fendiline or flunarizine or gallopamil or isradipine or lidoflazine or mibefradil or nicardipine or nifedipine or nimodipine or nisoldipine or nitrendipine or prenylamine or verapamil or diltiazem)] AND [overdose OR medication errors OR poisoning OR intoxication OR toxicity OR adverse effect]. Two reviewers independently selected studies and a group of reviewers abstracted all relevant data using a pilot-tested form. A second group analyzed the risk of bias and overall quality using the STROBE (STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology) checklist and the Thomas tool for observational studies, the Institute of Health Economics tool for Quality of Case Series, the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments) guidelines, and the modified NRCNA (National Research Council for the National Academies) list for animal studies. Qualitative synthesis was used to summarize the evidence. Of 15,577 citations identified in the initial search, 216 were selected for analysis, including 117 case reports. The kappa on the quality analysis tools was greater than 0.80 for all study types.

RESULTS

The only observational study in humans examined high-dose insulin and extracorporeal life support. The risk of bias across studies was high for all interventions and moderate to high for extracorporeal life support. High-dose insulin. High-dose insulin (bolus of 1 unit/kg followed by an infusion of 0.5-2.0 units/kg/h) was associated with improved hemodynamic parameters and lower mortality, at the risks of hypoglycemia and hypokalemia (low quality of evidence). Extracorporeal life support. Extracorporeal life support was associated with improved survival in patients with severe shock or cardiac arrest at the cost of limb ischemia, thrombosis, and bleeding (low quality of evidence). Calcium, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These agents improved hemodynamic parameters and survival without documented severe side effects (very low quality of evidence). 4-Aminopyridine. Use of 4-aminopyridine was associated with improved hemodynamic parameters and survival in animal studies, at the risk of seizures. Lipid emulsion therapy. Lipid emulsion was associated with improved hemodynamic parameters and survival in animal models of intravenous verapamil poisoning, but not in models of oral verapamil poisoning. Other studies. Studies on decontamination, atropine, glucagon, pacemakers, levosimendan, and plasma exchange reported variable results, and the methodologies used limit their interpretation. No trial was documented in humans poisoned with calcium channel blockers for Bay K8644, CGP 28932, digoxin, cyclodextrin, liposomes, bicarbonate, carnitine, fructose 1,6-diphosphate, PK 11195, or triiodothyronine. Case reports were only found for charcoal hemoperfusion, dialysis, intra-aortic balloon pump, Impella device and methylene blue.

CONCLUSIONS

The treatment for calcium channel blocker poisoning is supported by low-quality evidence drawn from a heterogeneous and heavily biased literature. High-dose insulin and extracorporeal life support were the interventions supported by the strongest evidence, although the evidence is of low quality.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of sugammadex for verapamil intoxication

Previous studies have shown that medications from the cyclodextrin family bind to verapamil. The aim of our study was to determine whether sugammadex could bind to verapamil and prevent the cardiovascular toxicity of that drug. Twenty-eight sedated Wistar rats were infused with verapamil at 37.5 mg/kg/h. Five minutes after the start of infusion, the animals were treated with a bolus of either 16 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg or 1000 mg/kg sugammadex. The control group was treated with an infusion without sugammadex. The heart rate and respiratory rate were monitored, and an electrocardiogram was recorded. The primary end-point was the time to asystole. The verapamil infusion continued until the animals arrested. The asystole time for the S16 group was significantly longer compared to those for the control and S1000 groups (p < 0.05). The asystole time for the S1000 group was significantly shorter than those for all of the other groups (p < 0.05). Reflecting these data, there was a near doubling of the mean lethal dose of verapamil from 13.57 mg/kg (S.D. ±8.1) in the saline-treated rats to 22.42 mg/kg (S.D. ±9.9) in the sugammadex 16 group (p < 0.05). However, for the sugammadex 1000 group, the mean lethal dose was found to be 6.28 ± 1.11 mg/kg. This dose is significantly lower than those for all of the other groups (p < 0.05). We found that treatment with 16 mg/kg sugammadex delayed verapamil cardiotoxicity in rats. However, 1000 mg/kg sugammadex accelerated verapamil cardiotoxicity in rats. Further studies must be conducted to investigate the interaction between verapamil and sugammadex.

Toxicology in the ICU: Part 2: specific toxins

This is the second of a three-part series that reviews the generalized care of poisoned patients in the ICU. This article focuses on specific agents grouped into categories, including analgesics, anticoagulants, cardiovascular drugs, dissociative agents, carbon monoxide, cyanide, methemoglobinemia, cholinergic agents, psychoactive medications, sedative-hypnotics, amphetamine-like drugs, toxic alcohols, and withdrawal states. The first article discussed the general approach to the toxicology patient, including laboratory testing; the third article will cover natural toxins.