Saved an old woman who committed suicide with 38 blood pressure pills

According to Duc Giang General Hospital ( Hanoi ), the old woman was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition of felodipine poisoning (a drug used to treat high blood pressure).

According to information from the family, the old lady had serious psychological problems, so she took 38 felodipine pills with the intention of committing suicide. After the incident was discovered, her family took her to the emergency room and received timely intervention from medical staff.

With such a large dose, the patient fell into a state of deep hypotension, rapid circulatory failure, threatening his life. According to Dr. Tran Thi Oanh, Deputy Director of Duc Giang General Hospital, this is the first time the hospital has received such a critical poisoning case.

Saving an old woman who committed suicide with 38 blood pressure pills -0

Doctors are using ECMO to save the patient's life.

"After quickly assessing the condition, our medical team determined that this was a 'life-or-death battle'. The patient was quickly supported by the VA ECMO artificial heart-lung system - blood oxygen exchange through the venous-arterial extracorporeal membrane," said Dr. Oanh.

At the same time, the patient was immediately prescribed plasma exchange and hemofiltration. After more than 5 days of ECMO support, the patient gradually stabilized and was successfully connected to ECMO, continuing to be on a ventilator for another 2 days before being able to breathe completely on his own.

To date, the patient has recovered without any neurological sequelae or organ damage.

Felodipine is a safe antihypertensive drug when used as directed. However, in the event of overdose or suicide by taking the drug, the consequences can be very serious, even leading to death.

Doctors recommend that people absolutely do not take medication without medical prescription. For cases showing signs of depression or psychological crisis, early detection, timely counseling and full mental support are needed.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/cuu-song-cu-ba-tu-tu-bang-38-vien-thuoc-huyet-ap--i766394/