Ipecac Poisoning: A Report of Two Cases of Ingestion of Fluid Extract of Ipecac

Allport 1 recently reported the poisoning of a 2½-year-old boy who was inadvertently given 15 cc. of fluid extract of ipecac, the ingestion of which was followed by vomiting of several days' duration, diarrhea, melena, leukopenia and neutropenia, dehydration, hyponatremia, convulsions, pneumonia and pleural effusion, ECG changes, and, a month later, stenosing esophagitis. At the very time of the appearance of Allport's report, we were in consultation in the case of a 4-year-old girl and her brother. These children had been taken to a local hospital following the suspected ingestion of an unknown amount of acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and, following the routine established in the hospital emergency room, had been given "ipecac," 5 cc. The girl, having failed to vomit within 15 minutes, was given an additional 5 cc. Examination of the "ipecac," performed on the day prior to her death, revealed it to be fluid extract of ipecac. A