0000000000919690
AUTHOR
Uwe Stedtler
Angiotensin II antagonists - an assessment of their acute toxicity.
In Germany, increasing prescription rates of angiotensin II antagonists resulted in rising enquiries to Poisons Information Centres (PICs) during the last decade. Therefore, we aimed to assess their acute toxicity for deriving triage recommendations.An observational case series with data collected retrospectively from eight PICs in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Inclusion criteria were monoexposure, defined dose, and documented follow-up.In total, 206 cases of exposures to angiotensin II antagonists were included (candesartan, 94; eprosartan, 3; irbesartan, 20; losartan, 26; olmesartan, 16; telmisartan, 18; and valsartan, 29). The median dose expressed as a multiple of their maximum dail…
Escitalopram causes fewer seizures in human overdose than citalopram
Seizures are a recognized complication of acute overdose with the racemic (1:1 ratio of R- and S-enantiomers) selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant citalopram.We tested the hypothesis that escitalopram (the therapeutically active S-enantiomer of citalopram) causes fewer seizures in overdose than citalopram at comparable doses of the S-enantiomer.Multicenter retrospective review of cases with citalopram and escitalopram overdose reported to German, Austrian, and Swiss Poisons Centers between 1997 and 2006.316 citalopram and 63 escitalopram cases were analyzed. Somnolence, nausea, vomiting, tachycardia, QT prolongation, and tremor occurred with similar frequency in both groups…