Citation

Lodise M, De Giorgio F, Rossi R, d'Aloja E, Fucci N. Am. J. Forensic Med. Pathol. 2012; 33(3): 242-246.

Affiliation

From the *Institute of Legal Medicine, School of Medicine, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome; and †Forensic Science Department, Cagliari University, Monserrato (CA), Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PAF.0b013e318253d6ff

PMID

22835967

Abstract

A fatality following the ingestion of ibuprofen is reported. Ibuprofen is a prototypical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug widely prescribed as an analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antipyretic agent. To date, there are few case reports of fatal overdose with ibuprofen, following ibuprofen self-poisoning or accidental overdose. We report the case of a 51-year-old man with medical history of psychiatric disease, who was brought to the emergency department by ambulance with a chief complaint of having taken large amounts of drugs in a suicide attempt.Multiple empty containers of medications (ibuprofen, meloxicam, celecoxib, risperidone, citalopram, ketorolac, bromazepam) were found at the scene. He died 4 hours after admission to the emergency department, despite vigorous supportive care. Toxicological analyses were performed using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry technique. The estimated ibuprofen concentration in the plasma was 600 μg/mL; gastric content was 200 μg/mL for this compound. Our report describes results of the forensic investigation and discuss the review of the literature.

Language: en