Thevetia peruviana (yellow oleander) is an ornamental shrub found in tropical and subtropical regions, including tropical America. All parts of the plant are toxic due to cardiac glycosides, which can cause severe cardiotoxicity and arrhythmias. Poisoning is associated with significant mortality, often due to deliberate self-harm. This report describes a case of accidental ingestion of Thevetia peruviana seeds by a patient who believed that they could treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The patient presented to the emergency department within 30 minutes of ingesting yellow oleander seeds with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. Although initial vital signs were stable, he developed sinus bradycardia and symptoms of cardiac glycoside toxicity, including dizziness, tachypnea, and visual disturbances. Lab results later showed a serum digoxin level of 4.04 ng/mL, and the poison control center recommended digoxin immune fab (DigiFab). He received a total of 15 vials intravenously, resulting in marked clinical improvement. He was monitored on continuous telemetry in the cardiac unit and discharged in stable condition after four days. Although DigiFab is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for oleander poisoning, it remains the most effective reported antidote, and timely administration is crucial for successful management. Given the limited reports of oleander toxicity in the United States, this case highlights the risks of unregulated herbal remedies and the clinical presentation and management of oleander toxicity, underscoring the need for public education about oleander toxicity and the dangers of unregulated herbal remedies.

Poisoning with Taxus baccata (common yew) is a life-threatening emergency due to its major cardiotoxicity. The taxines it contains block cardiac sodium channels, rapidly leading to severe arrhythmias, cardiogenic shock, and often cardiac arrest. Management is exclusively symptomatic and relies on intensive hemodynamic support, including advanced resuscitation and, in some cases, the use of extracorporeal circulatory support (ECMO). The administration of antidotes such as DigiFab®, although experimental and not formally validated for this indication, may be considered based on pharmacological analogies with digoxin.

Oleander poisoning, resulting from the ingestion of Nerium oleander or Thevetia peruviana, is a serious toxicological issue in various parts of the world, particularly in regions where these plants grow abundantly and are easily accessible. Oleander contains potent cardiac glycosides, such as oleandrin and thevetin, which exert powerful effects on the cardiovascular system, leading to symptoms ranging from nausea and abdominal pain to severe arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. This review summarizes the existing literature on the epidemiology, clinical features, pathophysiology, and challenges in treatment management associated with oleander poisoning. While supportive care, gastric decontamination, and the administration of digoxin-specific Fab antibody fragments (Digifab) are essential therapeutic measures, limited access to Digifab, delays in intervention, and insufficient supportive care practices remain significant complicating factors. Particular attention is given to findings from autopsy reports, which provide critical insights into the pathophysiological effects of oleander toxins and help bridge gaps in understanding fatal cases. This review acknowledges key limitations, particularly the scarcity of English-language publications, which restricts input from regions such as southern Asia and the Mediterranean-areas where oleander-related poisoning, especially in cases of intentional self-harm, is more prevalent. Additionally, this review highlights the socio-cultural dimensions of oleander ingestion, often linked to intentional self-poisoning, and emphasizes the need for enhanced preventive measures and public education. Future research efforts should prioritize addressing these gaps through autopsy-based studies and the development of more accessible and effective antidotes, which are essential to mitigate the global health burden of oleander-related mortality.

Acute digoxin poisoning is increasingly uncommon in emergency medicine. Furthermore, controversy exists regarding indications for antidotal digoxin immune fab in acute poisoning. In healthy adults, the fab prescribing information recommends administration based on "known consumption of fatal doses of digoxin: ≥10mg," while many emergency medicine textbooks suggest fab administration be driven by clinical features or potassium concentration. A 54 kg adult, not on digoxin, presented one hour after ingesting 12.5 mg. Electrocardiogram revealed only ST depression and first degree heart block. Initial pulse was 102 beats/min, systolic blood pressure was 170 mmHg. The patient was otherwise asymptomatic. Poison center recommended immediately obtaining serum potassium and digoxin concentrations; call-back was planned for two hours. The emergency physician was instructed to have ≥10 fab vials bedside and to administer if instability ensued. Thirty-five minutes later (≈90 min post-ingestion) ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest occurred; initial serum potassium resulted at this time at 3.3 mEq/L. Bicarbonate, insulin and glucose, amiodarone, magnesium, calcium, and 10 fab vials were administered. Cardioversion resulted in wide-complex tachycardia which became ventricular fibrillation then asystole and the patient died. Serum digoxin concentration drawn on hospital arrival resulted after death at 44 ng/mL. In this fatal case of acute digoxin poisoning, fab was not empirically recommended because the patient initially did not have significant signs or symptoms that accompanied the history of ingesting ≥10 mg digoxin. While the bedside team was given clear anticipatory guidance by the regional poison center, the patient died despite fab administration once instability occurred.

No information is available on the clinical use of digoxin immune fab (ovine) during breastfeeding. Because it is a large protein molecule with a molecular weight of about 46,000 Da, the amount in milk is likely to be very low and absorption is unlikely because it is probably destroyed in the infant's gastrointestinal tract.

While there has been a decline in the use of digoxin in patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation, acute and chronic digoxin toxicity remains a significant clinical problem. Digoxin's narrow therapeutic window and nonspecific signs and symptoms of toxicity create clinical challenges and uncertainty around the diagnostic criteria of toxicity and responsive treatment choices for the bedside clinician. A systematic review of published literature on digoxin toxicity (34,587 publications over 6 decades, with 114 meeting inclusion criteria) was performed to develop 33 consensus statements on diagnostic and therapeutic approaches which were then evaluated through a modified Delphi process involving a panel of experts in cardiology, nursing, emergency medicine, and medical toxicology. The results demonstrate agreement about the need to consider time of ingestion and nature of the exposure (ie, acute, acute-on-chronic, chronic) and the use of digoxin immune Fab for life-threatening exposure to decrease risk of death. While several areas of continued uncertainty were identified, this work offers formalized guidance that may help providers better manage this persistent clinical challenge.

Preeclampsia (PE), the most severe presentation of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, is the major cause of morbidity and mortality linked to pregnancy, affecting both mother and fetus. Despite advances in prophylaxis and managing PE, delivery of the fetus remains the only causative treatment available. Focus on complex pathophysiology brought the potential for new treatment options, and more conservative options allowing reduction of feto-maternal complications and sequelae are being investigated. Endogenous digitalis-like factors, which have been linked to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia since the mid-1980s, have been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular diseases, including congestive heart failure and chronic renal disease. Elevated levels of EDLF have been described in pregnancy complicated by hypertensive disorders and are currently being investigated as a therapeutic target in the context of a possible breakthrough in managing preeclampsia. This review summarizes mechanisms implicating EDLFs in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia and evidence for their potential role in treating this doubly life-threatening disease.

The definitive treatment of North American crotalid snakebites is antivenin. In 2000, an FabAV antivenom (CroFab®) was introduced and in 2022, F(ab')2AV (Anavip®) was approved for treatment of copperhead bites. Our center that sees primarily copperhead snake bites added the recently approved treatment as a second option for the 2022 snake bite season. This brief report we describe our initial experience with the two antivenins via retrospective chart review: the cost, charge, laboratory differences, response to therapy, complications and duration of hospitalization of admitted patients with copperhead envenomation. Using three independent reviewers in this IRB exempt report we found 31 patients with copperhead bites (7 exclusions) leaving 19 adults and 7 children for analysis. We found there was no difference in age, sex, presence of lab abnormalities, total vials administered, or length of stay. There was significant differences in hospital costs and charges to the patient. Future research should include multi-center experiences comparing the two antivenins.