Abstract
Background: Hydroxychloroquine overdose is rare but potentially lethal. Hydroxychloroquine overdose symptoms are characterized by central nervous system toxicity, cardiac toxicity, and hypokalemia. Recommended treatment consists of epinephrine, high-dose diazepam, and careful potassium repletion. Few pediatric hydroxychloroquine overdoses have been reported. Case Report: We describe a 14-year-old girl who ingested 10 g (172 mg/kg) of hydroxychloroquine. She developed tachycardia, hypotension, and hypokalemia. She was intubated and treated with diazepam and epinephrine infusions and potassium supplementation. Her serum hydroxychloroquine concentration obtained 10 h after ingestion was 13,000 ng/mL (reference range 500–2000 ng/mL). The patient made a full medical recovery. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This?: Pediatric hydroxychloroquine overdoses are reported rarely, and the toxic and lethal doses of hydroxychloroquine ingestion have not been established. This case of a teenaged patient who ingested 10 g of hydroxychloroquine and survived provides additional information that may be used to help establish toxic and lethal doses of ingestion.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 332-336 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Emergency Medicine |
Volume | 62 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2022 |
Keywords
- chloroquine
- hydroxychloroquine
- overdose
- pediatric
- poisoning
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Emergency Medicine