A fatal case of suicidal pentoxifylline intoxication.
Pentoxifylline is a xanthine derivative used in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease. It is considered to be a safe drug and to the best of our knowledge there are no reports in the medical literature of cases of fatal poisoning. There is only one previous report of a young woman who tried to commit suicide by taking a large amount of the drug but recovered. We report the case of a 54-year-old man who took a massive dose of pentoxifylline and died after 24 h from refractory shock. The blood levels of pentoxifylline were as high as 32.5 micrograms/ml where the average therapeutic level is 1.3 micrograms/ml.
Suárez-Peñaranda
J M
JM
Instituto de Medicina Legal, Facultad de Medicina, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Rico-Boquete
R
R
López-Rivadulla
M
M
Blanco-Pampín
J
J
Concheiro-Carro
L
L
D000328:Adult; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010431:Pentoxifylline / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000506:poisoning*; D012769:Shock / Q000139:chemically induced; D013405:Suicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000506:poisoning*
D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D010431:Pentoxifylline