Ischaemic peripheral neuritis secondary to ergotism associated with ritonavir therapy

Irreversible coma, ergotamine, and ritonavir

We report the first case in the medical literature (to our knowledge) of a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection who was being treated with ritonavir and developed signs of severe vascular involvement and irreversible coma after the administration of 3 mg of ergotamine tartrate.

Ergotism associated with HIV antiviral protease inhibitor therapy

Ergotism is a rare condition of acute vasospasm found classically in young and middle-aged women taking ergot alkaloid agents to treat migraine headache. We report the case of a young man with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positivity and describe the drug interaction between protease inhibitors and ergot alkaloid agents, which most likely predisposed to development of ergot toxicity. The HIV-positive population receiving antiviral therapy may be an under-recognized group at risk for ergotism through decreased hepatic metabolism of ergot preparations.

Possible ergotamine-caffeine-associated delirium

An elderly patient with a history of chronic migraine was hospitalized with systolic hypertension and significant mental status changes, including increasing confusion, combative behavior, and remarkably detailed auditory hallucinations of several weeks' duration. Daily increased consumption of a product containing ergotamine 1 mg and caffeine 100 mg coincided with both onset and increasing severity of symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported in the contemporary literature of severe mental status changes and hallucination possibly due to ergotamine-caffeine.