Last Updated on by
Overview
- aspirin
- mechanisms of toxicity: acid-base disturbance, uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation, disordered glucose metabolism
- Toxic dosage: ingestion of 125 mg/kg or more (or unknown) salicylate
- Large overdoses may ‘clump together’ In the stomach, causing delayed absorption
Clinical Features
- Early features: Tinnitus, nausea, hyperventilation, respiratory alkalosis
- Later features: Vomiting, sweating, metabolic acidosis, dehydration, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia
- Very severe: Confusion, coma, pulmonary oedema, acute kidney injury , complex electrolyte disturbances
Acid-base disturbance: Respiratory alkalosis, elevated anion gap metabolic acidosis. If acidosis is present this is a late sign and indicates imminent demise without intervention
Dose-Related risk assessment
Levels alone should not guide management. It is the combination of clinical features and level that is important.
Dose
- Greater than 125 mg/kg body weight: likely toxicity is mild.
- Greater than 250 mg/kg body weight: likely toxicity is moderate.
- Greater than 500 mg/kg body weight: likely toxicity is severe, possibly fatal.
Symptoms
- Mild (nausea, vomiting, tinnitus).
- Moderate (hyperventilation and confusion).
- Serious (hallucinations, seizures, coma, cerebral oedema or pulmonary oedema).
Investigations
- Plasma salicylate concentrations: at 2 h after ingestion in symptomatic patients and 4 h in asymptomatic patients – and if raised, repeated every 2 – 4 hours until levels are falling and clinical symptoms improving
- Arterial blood gas: respiratory alkalosis – hyperventilation, metabolic acidosis – lactate
- ECG: widened QRS, AV block, ventricular arrhythmias
- Renal function and electrolytes (hypokalemia), FBC, coagulation studies (raised INR/PTR), urinary pH, and blood glucose
Management
- Consider oral activated charcoal (50 g for an adult, 1 g/kg for a child) if ingested more than 125 mg/kg body weight salicylate less than one hour previously.
- Gastric lavage if the patient has ingested more than 500 mg/kg body weight salicylate within one hour.
- Aggressive rehydration
- Identify and teat Electrolyte Abnormalities
- give potassium if the plasma potassium falls below 4.0 mmol/L.Hypokalaemia should be corrected before giving sodium bicarbonate
- Have a low threshold to give glucose
- Urinary alkalinization: Consider urine alkalinization (target urine 7.5 – 8.5) if the plasma salicylate concentration is above 500 mg/L (3.6 mmol/L) using the following regime: 225 mmol sodium bicarbonate (225 mL of 8.4% over 60 minutes or 1.5 L of 1.26% over 2 hours)
- Haemodialysis is the treatment of choice for severe poisoning and should be seriously considered in patients with:Plasma concentrations greater than 700 mg/L (5.1 mmol/L),Severe metabolic acidosis (pH below 7.2),Acute kidney injury,Congestive cardiac failure.Non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema,Coma,Convulsions,CNS effects not resolved by correction of acidosis,Persistently high salicylate concentrations unresponsive to urinary alkalinisation
- Endotracheal intubation may be indicated for deteriorating mental status or acute lung injury,uncontrollable agitation.
Leave A Comment?