Journal of Medical and Surgical Intensive Care Medicine 2019 , Vol 10, Issue 3
L-Carnitine Treatment In Acute Valproic Acid Intoxication: Case Report
Demet ÖZER 1 ,Volkan YILDIRIM 1 ,Ayşe AYYILDIZ 1 ,Ebru KARAKOÇ 1 ,Birgül YELKEN 1
1Eskişehir Osmangazi University School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Intensive Care Department, Eskisehir, Turkey DOI : 10.33381/dcbybd.2019.2037 Valproic acid (VPA) is a widely used drug with various indications (psychiatric disorders, epilepsy, migraine etc.) and it has been used in many cases of suicide attempts. VPA intoxication may cause electrolyte imbalances, hepatotoxicity, pancreatitis, bone marrow suppression, and brain edema. The most common finding in VPA intoxication is coma and respiratory depression as a result of central nervous system suppression. Case reports emphasize that the efficacy of L-carnitine and various extracorporeal elimination techniques like intermittent hemodialysis or continuous renal replacement therapies in the treatment of VPA intoxication. In this report we present the case of a 34 year old female with VPA intoxication who was successfully treated with L-carnitine. Keywords : valproic acid, L-carnitine, hemodialysis, drug abuse