title: Severe labetalol overdose in an 8-month-old infant.
abstract: We report a case of a large labetalol overdose in an eight-month-old infant that was being treated for hypertension following surgery for coarctation of the aorta. Labetalol, both alpha and beta adrenergic blocking agent was used for treating postoperative hypertension. By mistake, the patient was given an extremely high dose of labetalol intravenously (17.2 mg.kg(-1)). Remarkably, the medication error had a surprisingly limited clinical effect on the infant who survived the incident. We discuss the pharmacokinetic, pharmocodynamic and possible explanations for this fortunate turn of events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Landspitali University Hospital, Reykjavik, Iceland. adalbjn@landspitali.is
authors.forename: Adalbjörn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thorsteinsson
authors.forename: Astridur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johannesdottir
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eiríksson
authors.forename: Hródmar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Helgason
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001017:Aortic Coarctation / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007223:Infant; D007741:Labetalol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008508:Medication Errors; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D007741:Labetalol