Reactions 1362 - 30 Jul 2011

O STheophylline overdose

Status epilepticus and amnesia: case reportA 55-year-old man, who had a history of mild obstructive

pulmonary disease, developed a series of tonic-clonicseizures without interictal reorientation for more than1 hour. On admission, he was disoriented and requiredmechanical ventilation. It was revealed that he hadaccidentally ingested a high dose of theophylline the nightbefore [dosage not stated]. His theophylline concentrationwas 58 mg/L. Following charcoal administration and forceddiuresis, no further seizure activity was seen. Five days afteradmission, a MRI showed increased signal intensities in thehippocamal region. After 3 months’ rehabilitation, he hadpersistent long-term memory deficits. At last follow-up, hehad improvements in working memory, but changes inlong-term memory function persisted.

Author comment: "We describe a patient who developeda severe amnesic syndrome after theophylline-induced [statusepilepticus] with selective bilateral hippocampal damage."Kohl Z, et al. Selective bilateral hippocampal lesions after theophylline-inducedstatus epilepticus causes a permanent amnesic syndrome. Journal of ClinicalNeuroscience 18: 964-966, No. 7, Jul 2011. Available from: URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2010.11.017 - Germany 803058146

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Reactions 30 Jul 2011 No. 13620114-9954/10/1362-0001/$14.95 © 2010 Adis Data Information BV. All rights reserved