Self-poisonings with tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in Tehran, Iran.

In a prospective hospital-based cohort study, we addressed the question of severity and outcome of antidepressant poisonings in patients who attended the Loghman-Hakim Hospital Poison Center, the only national center in Tehran dedicated for detoxification. The aim of the study was to find out if tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) intoxications require more therapeutic efforts than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) intoxications. The study was applied over a 7-week period (28 March-20 May 2006). From 3578 intoxications, 334 patients with antidepressant or lithium self-poisoning were identified (9.3% of all poisoning cases; 233 females, 101 males; median age 24 years, min 13, max 70). Compared to SSRI single-substance intoxications (n=17), TCA single-substance intoxications (n=73) were associated with: (1) a significantly lower level of consciousness (P=0.005); (2) a significantly higher admission frequency (80.8 vs. 35.3%; P<0.001); and (3) a higher intubation frequency (13.7 vs. 0%; P=ns). SSRI multiple-substance intoxications were associated with a significantly lower level of consciousness than SSRI single-substance intoxications (P=0.042), while there was no significant difference between TCA multiple- and single-substance intoxications. This study suggests that an overdose with SSRIs results in a more favourable clinical outcome than an overdose with TCAs.

Hydroxy-thioxanthones as suitable neutral ionophores for the preparation of PVC-membrane potentiometric sensors for Al(III) ion.

The complexation of five recently synthesized hydroxy-thioxanthone derivatives with Al3+ ion was studied in a methanol solution spectrophotometrically, and the stepwise formation constants of the resulting 1:1 and 2:1 (ligand-to-metal) complexes were evaluated. The suitability of the thioxanthone derivatives as neutral ionophores for the preparation of a new Al3+ ion-selective PVC-membrane electrode was investigated, and 1-hydroxy-3-methyl-thiocanthone was selected as the best compound for this purpose. The prepared electrode exhibits a Nernstian response for Al3+ ions over a wide concentration range (2.0 x 10(-2) to 2.0 x 10(-6) M), with a limit of detection of 1.0 x 10(-6) M. It has a very fast response time of about 5 s and can be used for at least 3 months without any considerable divergence in the potentials. The proposed membrane sensor revealed very good selectivities for Al3+ over a wide variety of other metal ions, and could be used at a working pH range of 3.4 - 5.0. It was used as an indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of aluminum ions with EDTA, and in the determination of Al3+ in different real samples.