[Acute life-threatening bradycardia: food poisoning by Turkish wild honey]. 1996

K von Malottki, and H W Wiechmann
Medizinische Klinik, St. Barbara-Klinik Heessen.

METHODS A 49-year-old Turkish man, previously well, suddenly developed severe vertigo and a feeling of retrosternal compression. The symptoms had set in within one hour of eating Turkish wild honey. The patient was in a poor general state with a heart rate of 38/min after administration of atropine by the general practitioner who had been called. Arterial blood pressure was 90/45 mmHg. METHODS All routine biochemical tests were normal. The electrocardiogram merely showed sinus bradycardia of 38 beats/ min. METHODS Under purely symptomatic treatment the heart rate and blood pressure returned to normal within 24 hours. The history of eating wild honey and typical symptoms indicated acetylandromedol poisoning. CONCLUSIONS Turkish honey from the Black Sea coast occasionally contains concentrations of acetylandromedol (formerly called andromedotoxin) high enough to cause poisoning. The substance is obtained by bees from some species of Rhododendron which they then incorporate into their honey. Typical of the poisoning are gastrointestinal symptoms and marked, even life-threatening, bradycardia and arterial hypotension.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D001919 Bradycardia Cardiac arrhythmias that are characterized by excessively slow HEART RATE, usually below 50 beats per minute in human adults. They can be classified broadly into SINOATRIAL NODE dysfunction and ATRIOVENTRICULAR BLOCK. Bradyarrhythmia,Bradyarrhythmias,Bradycardias
D003131 Combined Modality Therapy The treatment of a disease or condition by several different means simultaneously or sequentially. Chemoimmunotherapy, RADIOIMMUNOTHERAPY, chemoradiotherapy, cryochemotherapy, and SALVAGE THERAPY are seen most frequently, but their combinations with each other and surgery are also used. Multimodal Treatment,Therapy, Combined Modality,Combined Modality Therapies,Modality Therapies, Combined,Modality Therapy, Combined,Multimodal Treatments,Therapies, Combined Modality,Treatment, Multimodal,Treatments, Multimodal
D003937 Diagnosis, Differential Determination of which one of two or more diseases or conditions a patient is suffering from by systematically comparing and contrasting results of diagnostic measures. Diagnoses, Differential,Differential Diagnoses,Differential Diagnosis
D004224 Diterpenes Twenty-carbon compounds derived from MEVALONIC ACID or deoxyxylulose phosphate. Diterpene,Diterpenes, Cembrane,Diterpenes, Labdane,Diterpenoid,Labdane Diterpene,Norditerpene,Norditerpenes,Norditerpenoid,Cembranes,Diterpenoids,Labdanes,Norditerpenoids,Cembrane Diterpenes,Diterpene, Labdane,Labdane Diterpenes
D005440 Fluid Therapy Therapy whose basic objective is to restore the volume and composition of the body fluids to normal with respect to WATER-ELECTROLYTE BALANCE. Fluids may be administered intravenously, orally, by intermittent gavage, or by HYPODERMOCLYSIS. Oral Rehydration Therapy,Rehydration,Rehydration, Oral,Oral Rehydration,Rehydration Therapy, Oral,Therapy, Fluid,Therapy, Oral Rehydration,Fluid Therapies,Oral Rehydration Therapies,Oral Rehydrations,Rehydration Therapies, Oral,Rehydrations,Rehydrations, Oral,Therapies, Fluid,Therapies, Oral Rehydration
D005517 Foodborne Diseases Acute illnesses, usually affecting the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, brought on by consuming contaminated food or beverages. Most of these diseases are infectious, caused by a variety of bacteria, viruses, or parasites that can be foodborne. Sometimes the diseases are caused by harmful toxins from the microbes or other chemicals present in the food. Especially in the latter case, the condition is often called food poisoning. Food Poisoning,Food-borne Disease,Food-borne Illness,Foodborne Disease,Foodborne Illness,Food-borne Diseases,Food-borne Illnesses,Foodborne Illnesses,Poisoning, Food,Disease, Food-borne,Disease, Foodborne,Food Poisonings,Food borne Disease,Food borne Diseases,Food borne Illness,Food borne Illnesses,Illness, Food-borne,Illness, Foodborne,Illnesses, Foodborne
D005858 Germany A country in central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark. The capital is Berlin.
D006722 Honey A sweet viscous liquid food, produced in the honey sacs of various bees from nectar collected from flowers. The nectar is ripened into honey by inversion of its sucrose sugar into fructose and glucose. It is somewhat acidic and has mild antiseptic properties, being sometimes used in the treatment of burns and lacerations. Honeys

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