Cardiotoxicity following bupropion overdose.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether bupropion overdose has been associated with cardiovascular toxicity.


METHODS
MEDLINE (1966-January 2002), EMBASE (1980-January 2002), Current Contents (January 2002), and PubMed (January 2002) databases for English-language human reports. Search terms included bupropion, overdose (drug), intoxication, poisoning, and acute ingestion.


RESULTS
Articles describing toxicity following bupropion overdose were evaluated independently by both authors to identify cases of cardiotoxicity.


RESULTS
Thirteen articles describing bupropion overdose in 116 patients were identified. Only 3 patients exhibited cardiotoxicity following acute ingestion; 2 of these patients also ingested other medications. All 3 patients experienced tachycardia and conduction delays (widened QRS complex and/or prolonged QTc interval), but none of these delays progressed to a life-threatening arrhythmia. All patients recovered, with resolution of cardiotoxicity within 2-4 days following ingestion.


CONCLUSIONS
We recommend that all patients with an overdose of bupropion should have an electrocardiogram performed on admission and should be monitored for the development of conduction delays and/or life-threatening arrhythmias.
Druteika
Deon
D
Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Zed
Peter J
PJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016642:Bupropion / Q000009:adverse effects*; D062787:Drug Overdose; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006329:Heart Conduction System / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000139:chemically induced*
D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D016642:Bupropion