SUICIDAL INGESTION OF MASSIVE COLCHICINE OVERDOSE WITH RECOVERY

Colchicine is an active alkaloid that is commonly used for treatment of multiple diseases including gout, primary biliary cirrhosis and familial Mediterranean fever. Less commonly it has been implicated in several fatal overdoses. Deaths from colchicine overdoses are usually due to multiple organ failure, whether directly from colchicine toxicity or due to ensuing sepsis. We report an extreme case of colchicine ingestion (200 tablets, 0.5 mg ,1.6mg/kg) which is the largest reported non fatal colchicine overdose.Early implementation of a targeted therapeutic plan directed at the predicted multi organ failure which included aggressive use of activated charcoal, timely supportive measures including broad spectrum antibiotics and G-CSF for sepsis, ventilatory support, renal replacement therapy as well as as transfusion of blood and blood products resulted in complete recovery and discharge of the of patient off dialysis.