Sudden death following suicide with colchicine and chloroquine

Abstract

Poisoning with any of the colchicine or chloroquine drugs is rare. These drugs exert therapeutic and toxic effects on tissues by different mechanisms. Colchicine is used to treat a number of rheumatologic diseases and heart problems. In addition, chloroquine is used to treat malaria and some inflammatory diseases. There is a small gap between the therapeutic and toxic doses of these drugs. Gastrointestinal symptoms are the initial causes of poisoning with these drugs and then widespread organ failure in later stages can lead to sudden cardiac death. We introduce a case of concurrent poisoning with both drugs, in which the patient presented with a headache, nausea, and vomiting several hours after suicide. On the 1 st day, the patient's status was stable, but on the 2 nd day, the patient suddenly becomes ill and died even though the patient received supportive therapy. Concurrent poisoning with chloroquine and colchicine is extremely lethal, and early aggressive management is recommended even in an apparently stable patient.

Delayed elimination in humans after ingestion of colchicine: Two fatal cases of colchicine poisoning

“…Therefore, colchicine poisoning often occurs due to excessive administration of colchicine in patients with a history of gout. But in recent years, suicide or murder cases caused by intentional poisoning through oral administration or intravenous injection have also been reported [5][6][7][8]. Colchicine can be obtained from the medical kit of a family member suffering gout[9], or from a company with a falsified letter [6].The toxic symptom after colchicine poisoning generally occurs in three phases [10].…”