Case: 32-year-old male, healthy male with no past medical history, presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with dizziness. On telemetry patient is found to be in wide-complex tachycardia. Patient recently returned from a three-week trip and reported using over-the-counter (OTC) anti-diarrheal multiple times a day during vacation for traveler's diarrhea. Which dug is suspected?
Answer: Loperamide
Less well-known is the fact that Loperamide is an opioid that acts as a peripherally acting mu-opioid receptor agonist and rarely affects the central nervous system (CNS). It is an effective anti-diarrheal and usually safe, so the FDA approved it as an OTC medicine.
Interestingly, in overdose, it loses specificity for the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Potentially fatal side effects of overdose are QRS and QT interval prolongation and wide-complex tachycardia.
#pharmacology
#toxicity
References:
1. Eggleston W, Nacca N, Marraffa JM. Loperamide toxicokinetics: serum concentrations in the overdose setting. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2015; 53:495.
2. Spinner HL, Lonardo NW, Mulamalla R, Stehlik J. Ventricular tachycardia associated with high-dose chronic loperamide use. Pharmacotherapy 2015; 35:234.
3. Wightman RS, Hoffman RS, Howland MA, et al. Not your regular high: cardiac dysrhythmias caused by loperamide. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2016; 54:454.
4. Eggleston W, Clark KH, Marraffa JM. Loperamide Abuse Associated With Cardiac Dysrhythmia and Death. Ann Emerg Med 2017; 69:83.
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