PEDIATRICS Vol. 78 No. 3 September 1986, pp. 412-416
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Death Due to Chronic Syrup of Ipecac Use in a Patient With Bulimia

Russell J. Schiff MD1, Carol L. Wurzel MD1, Sandra C. Brunson MD1, Ilene Kasloff MD1, Michael P. Nussbaum MD1, and Shawn D. Frank MSW1

1 From the Schneider Children's Hospital, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, New York

A 17-year-old girl presented with malaise, weakness, palpitations, dysphagia, myalgias, and weight loss of 1 month's duration. Within 24 hours of admission to the hospital, she had hypotension unresponsive to medical management, intractable congestive heart failure, and arrhythmias; she died. Several empty bottles of syrup of ipecac were later found among her belongings. Syrup of ipecac is commonly used to induce emesis in patients who had ingested toxic substances. The chief pharmacologic property of this agent is due to its alkaloid component, emetine. There have been many previous reports of death due to emetine poisoning in patients receiving ipecac fluid extract and in those treated for amoebic dysentery. However, the literature cites only three case reports of fatalities secondary to chronic ipecac use as a means of losing weight. This is the first report of a death due to chronic ipecac use in an adolescent patient with bulimia. Emetine persists in the body for long periods, and in patients who have ingested it chronically, emitine is extremely toxic, specifically to cardiac smooth and skeletal muscles. With an increased awareness of the importance of weight control in the adolescent age group, the physician must carefully evaluate these patients for the use of emetics.

Key Words: syrup of ipecac • emetine • bulimia • cardiomyopathy • adolescent

Submitted on July 23, 1985
Accepted on December 31, 1985


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