Caffeine , widely imbibed the macrocosm over in everything from tea and coffee tomilk coke , is a stimulant drug . Like any stimulant , in enough measure it can do serious damage to your torso , and can even be lethal . A recentBMJ Case Reporthas spotlight just how dangerous it can be in large quantity , after a 26 - year - honest-to-goodness fair sex ended up in intensive care after ingesting a large amount of theworld ’s favorite psychotropic drug .
The womanhood , unnamed in the vitrine story , took herself to London ’s Queen Elizabeth hospital after intentionally ingesting two heaped teaspoonful of caffein pulverisation , which she ’d ordered online . Some powdered caffein products are illegal in the US , banned by theUS Food and Drugs Association(FDA ) , but not in the UK
modest caffeine overdoses of 1 - 2 gram can induce significant toxic core , include tachycardia ( a heart rate of over 100 beats per minute ) , disorientation , breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue , hallucinations , or mania . declamatory overdoses – usually associated with take in too much caffeine from supplements – can result in end . Fatal overdoses have occurred after ingestions of over 5 gm of caffeine .
This patient had taken 20 grams in pulverization form . fit in to the FDA , this is the equivalent of around 56 cup of coffee all at once .
As you ’d expect , when she arrived at the hospital she was in significant suffering , reporting palpitations , sweating , anxiety , and difficulty ventilation . She had an high-flown heart rate of 109 measure per minute and low blood pressure . Her breathing became more rapid , and she became even more agitated . An ECG evidence she was suffering from polymorphous ventricular tachycardia , while other examination showed metabolic acidosis , a serious electrolyte disorder where acid builds up in the dead body .
She was initially give electrolyte replacement for the metabolic acidosis , but her stipulation persisted and she was move to intensive care . Here , she was sedated with fentanyl and paralyzed with rocuronium , and placed on an trespassing ventilator . She was also administer activated charcoal , whichbinds to toxins in the intestine , preclude the caffein from being absorb into the bloodstream .
gratefully , with careful monitoring and handling using atomic number 12 for her heart rate , the adult female came out of intensive care after a week and has made a adept recovery under the attention of a psychiatric squad . She was lucky to survive the overdose , the doctor said . mental testing showed her caffeine levels at 147.1mg / L , far higher than the 80mg / L that has been attend in black cases of caffein uptake . The doctors observe that as this mensuration was taken hour after she took the caffein , it could have been even higher .
The affected role expressed concern that it was so light to get hold of the caffein gunpowder , which is shun in the US andAustraliafollowing severaldeaths .
" I found out about caffein overdoses from an article in Daily Mail Australia about a teenager who had pass after taking two teaspoons of caffeine gunpowder , " the patient role told the medical team in the case report . " I go online and bought 1 kilo of powdery caffein for £ 29.99 with next twenty-four hour period speech . My family and I are shocked that you could corrupt such a serious amount of caffein so easily and cheaply . "
