title: Fatal acute intoxication of accidentally ingested nifedipine in an infant - A case report.
abstract: A fatal case of acute nifedipine intoxication in a two-year-old boy is presented. The boy accidentally orally ingested an unknown amount of his grandfather's nifedipine (40mg/tablet), mistaking it for a ramune confectionery. Despite intensive medical treatment, his death was confirmed at 31h after the accidental ingestion. The forensic autopsy revealed that there were neither pathological alterations or injuries in all of the organs. Toxicologically, nifedipine could be detected at the concentrations of 0.463, 0.669 and 13.0μg/g in cardiac blood, peripheral blood and stomach contents, respectively. These concentrations were evaluated as fatal levels, and the cause of death was diagnosed as acute nifedipine intoxication. Recently, the number of infants and children who accidentally ingest drugs in the home is increasing. This case report prompts forensic pathologists and toxicologists to emphasize that children are always exposed to the risk of accidental drug ingestion in daily life.
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: Forensic Toxicology Unit, Department of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, Graduate School of Medical Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Tatsunori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takayasu
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Mizuho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nosaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Mie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukami
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Misato
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: Department of Forensic Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, Japan. Electronic address: kondot@wakayama-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Toshikazu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
mesh_terms: D000061:Accidents, Home; D001344:Autopsy; D002675:Child, Preschool; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000506:poisoning*
chemical_list: D009543:Nifedipine
keywords: Accidental ingestion; Autopsy; Infant; Nifedipine; Toxicology