Cardiac effects of acute poisoning with tricyclic antidepressants: systematic review of the literature -- Part IV
Costa, J.; de Oliveira, E.I.; Rosa, M.M.; Ferreira, J.J.; Sampaio, C.; Carneiro, A.V.
Revista Portuguesa de Cardiologia Orgao Oficial da Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia 20(10): 1021-1030
2001
ISSN/ISBN: 0870-2551 PMID: 11770440 Document Number: 536975
Tricyclic antidepressant overdose is a frequent diagnosis in the emergency room. It is responsible for a significant percentage of hospital admissions for observation and treatment. This is due to its cardiac (as well as neurologic) toxicity, and the difficulty in predicting its clinical gravity. The authors present this paper with two objectives in mind: 1) information about a common and significant cardiological emergency; 2) presentation of the methodology concerning systematic reviews of the literature. In this fourth article (the last in a series), we present the prevention and management of tricyclic antidepressant overdose (in the three previous articles--published in previous issues of the Revista--we discussed the epidemiological aspects as well as the clinical presentation and the diagnosis, and the prognosis). Note: this is the fourth and last article on the cardiac toxicity of tricyclic antidepressant overdose.