strychnine and Drug-Overdose

Topics: Convulsants; Diagnosis, Differential; Drug Overdose; Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic; Humans; Muscle Hypertonia; Risk Factors; Strychnine

Traditional Chinese medicine is commonly used locally, not only for disease treatment but also for improving health. Many people prepare soups containing herbs or herbal decoctions according to recipes and general herbal formulae commonly available in books, magazines, and newspapers without consulting Chinese medicine practitioners. However, such practice can be dangerous. We report five cases of poisoning from 2007 to 2012 occurring as a result of inappropriate use of herbs in recipes or general herbal formulae acquired from books. Aconite poisoning due to overdose or inadequate processing accounted for three cases. The other two cases involved the use of herbs containing Strychnos alkaloids and Sophora alkaloids. These cases demonstrated that inappropriate use of Chinese medicine can result in major morbidity, and herbal formulae and recipes containing herbs available in general publications are not always safe.

Topics: Aconitum; Adult; Aged; Alkaloids; Books; Drug Overdose; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Female; Humans; Male; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Middle Aged; Sophora; Strychnos

Topics: Aged; Australia; Drug Overdose; Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic; Humans; Illicit Drugs; Male; Medicine, Traditional; Muscle Hypertonia; Strychnine

A 52-year-old male was discovered supine on his bed in a state of early decomposition. Commercial strychnine-treated gopher pellets were found in the home, and suicide notes were present at the scene. Biological fluids and tissues were tested for basic, acidic, and neutral drugs using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Concentrations of strychnine in heart and femoral blood were 0.96 and 0.31 mg/L, respectively. Vitreous fluid, bile, urine, liver, and brain specimens contained 0.36 mg/L, 1.17 mg/L, 2.92 mg/L, 4.59 mg/kg, and 0.86 mg/kg strychnine, respectively. No other drugs were detected in any of the samples. The cause of death was attributed to rodenticide poisoning, and the manner of death was suicide.

Topics: Animals; Cause of Death; Drug Overdose; Forensic Medicine; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Poisons; Rodentia; Rodenticides; Strychnine; Suicide

Topics: Adult; Arsenic Poisoning; Cause of Death; Child, Preschool; Clozapine; Diagnosis, Differential; Drug Overdose; Expert Testimony; Fat Emulsions, Intravenous; Female; Homicide; Humans; Infant; Insanity Defense; Male; Middle Aged; Poisoning; Poisons; Postmortem Changes; Strychnine