Summary
A fatal case of intoxication with the antidepressant drug, desipramine, in a two year old child is described. The symptoms were comparable to those observed in previous (non-fatal) cases and in imipramine intoxications. The tissue levels of desipramine in the assayed organs were between 100 and 300 μg/g with a relatively even distribution throughout the brain. The plasma level was found to be approximately 200 times higher than the levels observed in desipramine therapy. Less than 1 per cent of the ingested dose (2500 mg) could be removed by peritoneal dialysis. Only a fraction of desipramine was metabolized. The metabolites, 2-hydroxydesipramine, iminodibenzyl and traces of desdimethylimipramine could be detected in organs and body fluids. However, 2-hydroxydesipramine did not enter the brain.
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Bickel, M.H., Brochon, R., Friolet, B. et al. Clinical and biochemical results of a fatal case of desipramine intoxication. Psychopharmacologia 10, 431–436 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00403984
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00403984