TY - JOUR PY - 2015// TI - Cardiotoxicity of yew JO - Cor et Vasa A1 - Piskač, O. A1 - Stríbrný, J. A1 - Rakovcová, H. A1 - Malý, M. SP - e234 EP - e238 VL - 57 IS - 3 N2 - The Common Yew (Taxus baccata) is an ornamental tree. The taxine alkaloids contained in yew berries, needles or bark are poisonous. The lethal dose for an adult is reported to be 50 g of yew needles. Patients who ingest a lethal dose frequently die due to cardiogenic shock, in spite of resuscitation efforts. Although no specific therapy exists, in some patients the asystole phase can be overcome by instituting extracorporeal membrane oxygen therapy (ECMO). Therapeutic procedures reported in the literature are only referred to in published case reports and it is not self-evident whether they have been effective or whether the patient had ingested a non-lethal dose of the toxins. In our case report, we describe lethal intoxication by common yew needles in a suicide attempt and summarize the treatment options referred to in literature. © 2014 The Czech Society of Cardiology.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0010-8650 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.crvasa.2014.11.003 ID - ref1 ER -