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Comment in:
Death
from asthma associated with sertraline
overdose.
Carson HJ, Zweigart M, Lueck
NE.
Department of Pathology, Mercy Medical Center, Cedar
Rapids, Iowa 52403, USA. hjcmd@earthlink.net
The authors report a
case of a young woman for whom autopsy confirmed the cause of death to
be due to an acute asthma attack. In addition, she had high serum levels
of sertraline hydrochloride (Zoloft). The decedent had a recent
prescription for sertraline filled, from which most of the pills were
missing, suggesting a large consumption of medication. She was found
dead at home, immersed in a bath. Autopsy revealed anatomic evidence of
a severe recent asthma attack. Quantitative blood assay for sertraline
was very high (620 ng/ml). Fatalities from sertraline alone are
virtually nonexistent. The effects of sertraline on asthma, however, are
not well-studied. Why the patient ingested so much sertraline is
unclear. However, it is possible that, in a variant of the serotonin
syndrome, a large dose of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
participated in precipitating an asthma attack or prevented her from
being aware of the evolution of such an exacerbation. Additional
observations in the future will be useful in assessing the role of this
class of drugs in patients with asthma.
Publication Types:
PMID: 10990292 [PubMed - indexed for
MEDLINE]
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