Acute chloroquine poisonning in Le Dantec Teaching Hospital

: Chloroquine poisoning is an acute severe drug induce entity increasingly frequent in Senegal. This is due on one hand to its easy accessibility and its conditioning, on the other hand to its frequent use, in the voluntary attempt of ending pregnancy. The aim of this study is to assess the frequency and the severity of such poisoning in a senegalese intensive unit care. We undertook a descriptive retrospective study from January 1998 to December 2003 in the intensive care unit of Aristide Dantec Hospital. All patients admitted for voluntary or accidental acute intoxication to chloroquine were included. The parameters studied were: reason of admission, alledged ingested amount, delay of admission, hemodynamic modifications, therapeutic data and evolution. During the study period, forty-nine cases of chloroquine intoxication were listed out of 239 acute intoxications. Among these 49 cases, 16 files were not processable. These accounted for 1,48% of all admissions during this period. Women were more represented (78.78%). In 90.90% of the cases, the intoxication was voluntary, they were related to suicidal attempt in 57.57% of the cases. The willingness to end a course of a pregnancy was found in 33.33% of the cases. The average age was 22.69 years (11 years - 38 years). The average time of admission was 4 hours. with extremes of 1 and 8 hours. The clinical symptoms were dominated by hemodynamic, neuropsychiatric and respiratory disorders. Toxicological analysis was not carried out. Ionic disorders were dominated by hypokaliemies and electrocardiographic disorders by a widening of QRS. Symptomatic treatment systematic, was based on a vascular filling and the use of adrenalin. evacuation treatment consisted of a systematic gastric "lavage" and the use of activated charcol on (3.03%). Diazepam as treatment antidotic was seldom used. Psychiatric consultation was systematically carried out. Total mortality was 6%. The authors emphasize the necessaty to: Inform the population on the absence of drugs being able to stop a pregnancy. Think on the urgency need to implement a medical emergency and reanimation departments (SMUR). Create poison control centers in Senegal.