-IBIS-1.5.0-
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toxidrome
Caffeine toxidrome
botanicals
definition
caffeine toxidrome
the following toxicity information is largely derived from poisonings, overdoses and research on isolated constituents; used with appropriate clinical judgment and cautious prescribing, herbs are safe and efficacious
plants included:
» Coffea arabica
» Cola spp.
acute caffeine toxidrome has a rapid onset and a short half-life characterized by CNS stimulation, especially involving the spinal cord. Symptoms include vertigo, tinnitus, gastric rumbling, abdominal pains and nausea, occasionally vomiting. Severe intoxication results in tachycardia, giddiness, tremors, hyperreflexia, irregular pulse changes, decreased blood pressure, trismus, meiosis, photophobia, and non-reactive pupils. Renal problems may also occur, including glomerular nephritis and a tenesmic bladder. Death occurs due to opisthotonos, convulsions, or a weakening and sudden collapse of the heart (von Oettingen, p. 273)
laboratory test changes: increased urinary output without increasing proportional amounts of the salts, urates normally lost; an increased amount of glucose, acetone (ketones), and albuminuria has been noted (von Oettingen, pp. 77, 273); blood tests may also reveal an increase in adrenocortical activity with an increase of free fatty acids (Theines and Haley, p. 16)
footnotes
Thienes, C.H., Haley, T.J. 1975. Clinical Toxicology. 5th ed. Philadelphia: Lea and Febiger.
von Oettingen, W.F. 1958. Poisoning: A Guide to Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders and Company.