Sodium azide intoxication,"the man who lived": potential effective antidote and treatment strategy

The case report discusses a successful treatment of a suicide attempt involving the ingestion of a large, potentially lethal dose of sodium azide (NaN3). Sodium azide is a highly toxic substance, and ingesting a supralethal dose would typically be expected to have fatal consequences. However, in this instance, the medical team implemented a novel therapeutic approach, ultimately leading to a successful treatment outcome. The treatment involved high-volume continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (HV-CVVH), a type of renal replacement therapy that helps remove toxins from the blood. The treatment also included the administration of levocarnitine, which was found to have a significant impact on the patient's condition. Specifically, levocarnitine substantially mitigated lactate concentration, a key indicator of the body's metabolic state.

HV-CVVH was also highly effective in eliminating NaN3 from the body, as evidenced by comprehensive analyses of serum, ultrafiltrate, and urine samples. The success of this treatment approach suggests that it may have potential as a novel antidote for managing otherwise fatal NaN3 intoxication.

Overall, the case report presents a promising therapeutic approach that could potentially save lives in situations where sodium azide poisoning would normally be expected to have a fatal outcome.

Link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40055827/