Category: Toxicology
Posted: 4/19/2018 by Kathy Prybys, MD
(Emailed: 4/20/2018)
(Updated: 4/20/2018)
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Bradycardias caused by poisoning are due to the toxin's effects on cardiovascular receptors and cellular channels and transport mechanisms and are often refractory to standard ACLS drugs. The most common drug classes responsible for bradycardias are calcium channel and beta blockers and digoxin (cardiac glycosides). Sodium channel blockers, clonidine, and opiates also can cause bradycardias. Antidotes are as follows:
** ILE is recommended only in life threatening poisonings where other accepted therapies have been use first or in cardiac arrest clinical scenarios.
Toxic Bradycardias in the Critically Ill Poisoned Patient. Givens M. Emergency Medicine International. Vol 2012.
The safety of high-dose insulin euglycaemia therapy in toxin-induced cardiac toxicity.Page CB, Ryan NM, et al. Clin Toxicol. 2017 Oct 26:1-6