Potential therapies for sodium azide intoxication: a case report and review of the literature

Nta Groeneveld, L van Hoeven, R S van der Crabben, C A den Uil, C Bethlehem, J Alsma

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)
766 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Intoxications with sodium azide are rare and in almost all cases lethal in doses above 700 mg or 10mg/kg. We report a case of a patient who ingested 2 grams of sodium azide as a suicide attempt. Sodium azide irreversible blocks cytochrome C oxidase by inhibiting oxidative phosphorylation leading to cell death. There is currently no antidote available. Our patient was treated with a range of therapies, on site, in the emergency department and in the intensive care unit, such as sodium thiosulphate, methylene blue, intralipid, extensive gastric lavage, whole bowel irrigation combined with pro-kinetics, hydroxocobalamin and exchange transfusion. During the clinical course the patient developed cardiac failure, for which veno-arterial ECMO and an intra-aortic balloon pump was placed. However, cardiac function did not recover, leading to discontinuation of treatment after 7 days. As literature on sodium azide intoxication is scarce, we conducted a review to present potential treatment options.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)86-95
Number of pages10
JournalAcute Medicine
Volume21
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Jun 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Rila Publications Ltd.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Potential therapies for sodium azide intoxication: a case report and review of the literature'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this