Reactions 593 - 23 Mar 1996

SDesipramine

Sudden death?: case reportClinicians should think carefully about the routine use of

desipramine in children and adolescents. This warning isprompted by the following case, and 4 previous reports, ofsudden death in a youth receiving desipramine.

The 14-year-old boy had been receiving desipramine225–300 mg/day for > 12 months for attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). After physical exertionhe suddenly lost consciousness and experienced bodymovements that may have been a seizure. Despiteresuscitation measures, the boy died.

An autopsy revealed only an anomaly in the size of the boy’sright coronary artery. There was no evidence of an overdose ofdesipramine.

Author comment: ‘This fifth case of sudden death in a youthduring desipramine treatment adds to the growing concernabout a potential relationship between this medication andsudden death in children and adolescents. The available dataare not sufficient to draw a definitive conclusion about a causalconnection.’ It is suspected that desipramine interacted with apre-existing cardiac risk factor in producing the death of thischild.Popper CW, et al. Sudden death putatively related to desipramine treatment inyouth: a fifth case and a review of speculative mechanisms. Journal of Child andAdolescent Psychopharmacology 5: 283-300, No. 4, 1995 - USA 800428235

1

Reactions 23 Mar 1996 No. 5930114-9954/10/0593-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved