Salicylate poisoning

Salicylate poisoning continues to be an important cause of drug related mortality. The zero order kinetics of salicylates at high doses is responsible in part for cases of iatrogenic poisoning. Serum levels tend to correlate with severity of poisoning in acute overdose cases only. Clinical manifestations include involvement of nervous system, hepatic and pulmonary systems along with metabolic disturbances. Measures at enhancing elimination and reducing absorption, while providing supportive care form the basis of management

Levodopa in severe congestive heart failure

The administration of dopamine results in substantial improvement in the performance of the failing heart, and oral formulation of this drug would, therefore, be desirable [1]. Levodopa is converted to dopamine after oral ingestion by the action of aromatic amino acid, decarboxylase in the liver and other tissues [2]. Rajfer [4] recently demonstrated that long-term failure is associated with sustained hemodynamic improvement. We report a case of the use of Levodopa in a patient with severe heart failure and cardiogenic shock who become dependent on intravenous positive inotropic agents