First case report of toxicity from ingestion of e-cigarette nicotine liquid

3 out of 5 stars Nicotine Poisoning in an Infant. Bassett RA et al. N Engl J Med 2014 May 7 [Epub before print] Full Text This short “letter to the editor” is, to my knowledge, the first reported case of toxicity from ingestion of e-cigarette nicotine liquid. A 10-month-old male ingested an unknown amount of nicotine-containing liquid compounded at a local “vape” shop. The liquid was labelled as containing 1.8% nicotine (18 mg/ml) as well as glycerin, propylene glycol, and oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate). the child presented with vomiting, tachycardia, “grunting” respirations, and truncal ataxia. Symptoms resolved by 6 hours after ingestion without specific treatment. The serum salicylate level was “normal.” If, as reported in some sources, the lethal dose of nicotine can be as low as 1 mg/kg, a milliliter or tw0 might be enough to cause fatality in a toddler. As this letter points out, a recent re-evaluation of the evidence suggests that the actual deadly dose is much higher. The authors brief discussion in this letter makes the following points: At this point e-cigarette nicotine liquids are completely unregulated, and may contain dangerous unlisted ingredients such as oil of wintergreen. (Recently the FDA has announced plans to begin regulation of the industry.) An e-cigarette liquid labelled, say, “16 mg” contains 16 mg of nicotine per milliliter, not 16 mg in the entire vial. Ingestion of low-dose nic...
Source: The Poison Review - Category: Toxicology Authors: Tags: Medical case report cholinergic toxicity e-cigarette nicotine toxicity Source Type: news