Epidemiological Survey of Theophylline Poisoning in a tertiary poison center

Abstract

Background: Theophylline belongs to the category of bronchodilators and belongs to the family of methylxanthines. The purpose of this study was the epidemiological and clinical investigation of theophylline poisoning in patients admitted to Loghman Hakim Hospital in Tehran. Methods: This retrospective study reviewed the archived files of hospitalized patients from 2012 to 2022 by developing a questionnaire. All demographic information and results of examinations and laboratory tests were extracted from the files. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS version 25 software. Results: The age range of the patients was 3 months to 57 years. Out of 34 studied patients, 79.4% were female and 20.6% were male. The most common symptoms of poisoning were vomiting, nausea, sinus tachycardia, hyperglycemia and respiratory alkalosis. The incidence of hyperglycemia was 47.1%. One person had died. Conclusion: Poisoning with theophylline is uncommon and is mainly caused by self-harm. Except in severe poisonings, death and serious complications have not followed, and they have mostly recovered with supportive and symptomatic treatments.

Keywords

• Exposure
• Intoxication
• Poisoning
• Theophylline

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