Objective: To review the clinical profiles and therapies instituted for patients with acute amitraz intoxication.
Design: Retrospective study.
Setting: Multidisciplinary intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital.
Patients: Ten patients admitted to the ICU of Ege University Hospital.
Results: Ten patients between 4 and 34 years of age were evaluated. The intoxication was the result of a suicide attempt in five cases and accidental in the rest. Altered consciousness, nausea, vomiting and dizziness were the common initial symptoms. The major clinical findings in the ICU were somnolence, coma, miosis, mydriasis, bradycardia, respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation, and hypo- and hyperthermia. Blood glucose level was increased significantly in three cases and urinary output was increased in two. The length of stay was between 2 and 5 days.
Conclusion: The signs and symptoms of acute amitraz intoxication appear rapidly and become established within hours. The initially severe clinical situation improves fast. Cases of this rare mode of intoxication should be carefully followed and treated in the ICU.