We present a case of fatal myocardial damage caused by zinc phosphide ingestion. It is a highly toxic poison that causes life-threatening complications (cardiac and respiratory acute failure above all) by its active metabolite phosphine. Phosphine toxicity’s case reports from Europe (and Italy), United States and western countries are rare. A 69-year-old man drunk a great amount of alcohol and unspecified amount of diluted zinc phosphide and was admitted to emergency department with a mild metabolic acidosis and acute respiratory failure. After gastro-intestinal decontamination, a transient improvement of his clinical conditions was observed. In the emergency medicine unit a sudden onset of severe bradycardia and hypotension appeared, electrocardiogram showed an increase in QRS duration with STelevation in many leads; 2 min later a thirddegree atrio-ventricular block was evident. Bradycardia went into asystole and the patient had cardiac arrest. Despite all resuscitative maneuvers, 6 h after zinc phosphide ingestion the patient died. No antidote or specific therapy or management of this potentially lifethreatening poison are actually available, but only supportive and resuscitative measures.

Fatal myocardial damage due to zinc phosphide intentional ingestion

SALVETTI, Massimo;MUIESAN, Maria Lorenza
2014-01-01

Abstract

We present a case of fatal myocardial damage caused by zinc phosphide ingestion. It is a highly toxic poison that causes life-threatening complications (cardiac and respiratory acute failure above all) by its active metabolite phosphine. Phosphine toxicity’s case reports from Europe (and Italy), United States and western countries are rare. A 69-year-old man drunk a great amount of alcohol and unspecified amount of diluted zinc phosphide and was admitted to emergency department with a mild metabolic acidosis and acute respiratory failure. After gastro-intestinal decontamination, a transient improvement of his clinical conditions was observed. In the emergency medicine unit a sudden onset of severe bradycardia and hypotension appeared, electrocardiogram showed an increase in QRS duration with STelevation in many leads; 2 min later a thirddegree atrio-ventricular block was evident. Bradycardia went into asystole and the patient had cardiac arrest. Despite all resuscitative maneuvers, 6 h after zinc phosphide ingestion the patient died. No antidote or specific therapy or management of this potentially lifethreatening poison are actually available, but only supportive and resuscitative measures.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11379/373106
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