Cor Vasa 2015, 57(3):e234-e238 | DOI: 10.1016/j.crvasa.2014.11.003

Cardiotoxicity of yew

Ondřej Piskač^a,*, Jan Stříbrný^b, Hana Rakovcová^c, Martin Malý^a

^a Kardiologické oddělení, Interní klinika, Ústřední vojenská nemocnice - Vojenská fakultní nemocnice, Praha, Česká republika

^b Vojenský ústav soudního lékařství, Ústřední vojenská nemocnice - Vojenská fakultní nemocnice, Praha, Česká republika

^c Klinika pracovního lékařství, 1. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy a Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice, Praha, Česká republika

The Common Yew (Taxus baccata) is an ornamental tree. The taxine alkaloids that are contained in yew berries, needles or bark are poisonous. The lethal dose for an adult is reported to be 50 g of yew needles. Patients who ingest a lethal dose frequently die due to cardiogenic shock, in spite of resuscitation efforts. Although no specific therapy exists, in some patients the asystole phase can be overcome by instituting extracorporeal membrane oxygen therapy (ECMO). Therapeutic procedures reported in the literature are only referred to in published case reports and it is not self-evident whether they have been effective or whether the patient had ingested a non-lethal dose of the toxins. In our case report, we describe lethal intoxication by common yew needles in a suicide attempt and summarize the treatment options referred to in literature.

Keywords: Arrhythmia; ECMO; Heart failure; Poisoning; Yew

Received: September 2, 2014; Revised: November 20, 2014; Accepted: November 21, 2014; Published: June 1, 2015  Show citation