Ventricular Arrhythmia Following Aconitine-Ingestion - 2 Case Reports -

초오 성분이 포함된 화풍단 복용 후 발생한 심실 부정맥 2례

The various species of aconitum contain diterpene (C-20) and norditerpene (C-19) forms of the natural alkaloid aconitine that cause neurologic, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular symptoms. In chinese medicine, these plants has been used as drugs to treat pain, dyspepsia, cerebrovascular disease, and so on. Because the therapeutic window is narrow, poisoning may occur from unintentional exposure, with a variety of toxic effects such as arrhythmia, hypotension, paresthesia, paralysis, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Aconitine-containing folk remedies are widely used in Korea. We encountered two cases of ventricular arrhythmia in patients who ingested tablets, known as 'Wha-Pung-Dan' made with aconitine extracts and were subsequently admitted to the ED. A 42 year-old man who took 35 tablets presented with ventricualr tarchycardia, and 40 year-old woman who took 40 tablets showed premature ventricular contractions. Both patients were discharged normally without any complications after three days.