Patterns of toxicity and factors influencing severity in acute adult trimipramine poisoning

Cytochrome P450-mediated inhibition of venlafaxine metabolism by trimipramine

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to ensure patients' safety and to enhance treatment efficacy, knowledge about pharmacokinetic interactions even in complex clinical situations of polypharmacy is invaluable. This study is to uncover the potential of pharmacokinetic interactions between venlafaxine and trimipramine in a naturalistic sample.

METHODS

Out of a therapeutic drug monitoring database with plasma concentrations of venlafaxine (VEN) and O-desmethylvenlafaxine (ODV), we considered two groups of patients receiving venlafaxine without known cytochrome P450 confounding medications, taking solely venlafaxine: V0 (n = 905), and a group of patients co-medicated with trimipramine, VTRIM (n = 33). For VEN, ODV and active moiety (sum of VEN + ODV) plasma concentrations and dose-adjusted concentrations as well as ODV/VEN ratios were compared between groups using the Mann-Whitney U test with a significance level of 0.05.

RESULTS

Patients co-medicated with trimipramine had higher plasma concentrations of VEN (183.0 vs. 72.0, +154%, P = 0.002) and AM (324.0 vs. 267.5, +21%, P = 0.005) and higher dose adjusted plasma concentrations than patients in the control group (P = 0.001 and P = 0.003). No differences were found for ODV and C/D ODV (P < 0.05 for both comparisons). The metabolite to parent ratio, ODV/VEN, was significantly lower in the VTRIM group (1.15 vs. 2.37, P = 0.012).

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest inhibitory effects of trimipramine on venlafaxine pharmacokinetics most likely via an inhibition of CYP 2D6 or by saturated enzyme capacity. The lack of in vitro data hampers the understanding of the exact mechanisms. Clinicians should be aware of drug-drug interactions when combining these agents. Therapeutic drug monitoring helps to ensure treatment efficacy and patients' safety.

Seizures after single-agent overdose with pharmaceutical drugs: analysis of cases reported to a poison center

CONTEXT

Seizures during intoxications with pharmaceuticals are a well-known complication. However, only a few studies report on drugs commonly involved and calculate the seizure potential of these drugs.

OBJECTIVES

To identify the pharmaceutical drugs most commonly associated with seizures after single-agent overdose, the seizure potential of these pharmaceuticals, the age-distribution of the cases with seizures and the ingested doses.

METHODS

A retrospective review of acute single-agent exposures to pharmaceuticals reported to the Swiss Toxicological Information Centre (STIC) between January 1997 and December 2010 was conducted. Exposures which resulted in at least one seizure were identified. The seizure potential of a pharmaceutical was calculated by dividing the number of cases with seizures by the number of all cases recorded with that pharmaceutical. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

We identified 15,441 single-agent exposures. Seizures occurred in 313 cases. The most prevalent pharmaceuticals were mefenamic acid (51 of the 313 cases), citalopram (34), trimipramine (27), venlafaxine (23), tramadol (15), diphenhydramine (14), amitriptyline (12), carbamazepine (11), maprotiline (10), and quetiapine (10). Antidepressants were involved in 136 cases. Drugs with a high seizure potential were bupropion (31.6%, seizures in 6 of 19 cases, 95% CI: 15.4-50.0%), maprotiline (17.5%, 10/57, 95% CI: 9.8-29.4%), venlafaxine (13.7%, 23/168, 95% CI: 9.3-19.7%), citalopram (13.1%, 34/259, 95% CI: 9.5-17.8%), and mefenamic acid (10.9%, 51/470, 95% CI: 8.4-14.0%). In adolescents (15-19y/o) 23.9% (95% CI: 17.6-31.7%) of the cases involving mefenamic acid resulted in seizures, but only 5.7% (95% CI: 3.3-9.7%) in adults (≥ 20y/o; p < 0.001). For citalopram these numbers were 22.0% (95% CI: 12.8-35.2%) and 10.9% (95% CI: 7.1-16.4%), respectively (p = 0.058). The probability of seizures with mefenamic acid, citalopram, trimipramine, and venlafaxine increased as the ingested dose increased.

CONCLUSIONS

Antidepressants were frequently associated with seizures in overdose, but other pharmaceuticals, as mefenamic acid, were also associated with seizures in a considerable number of cases. Bupropion was the pharmaceutical with the highest seizure potential even if overdose with bupropion was uncommon in our sample. Adolescents might be more susceptible to seizures after mefenamic acid overdose than adults. "Part of this work is already published as a conference abstract for the XXXIV International Congress of the European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists (EAPCCT) 27-30 May 2014, Brussels, Belgium." Abstract 8, Clin Toxicol 2014;52(4):298.