Biomaterial Database

Safety of liver donation after fatal intoxication with the tricyclic antidepressant trimipramine. 1996

K E Fattinger, and K M Rentsch, and P J Meier, and H Dazzi, and S Krähenbühl

Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland.

We report the case of a patient receiving long-term treatment with the tricyclic antidepressant trimipramine who died 10 days after a trimipramine overdose. A few hours before death, the serum trimipramine concentration had fallen to 80 microg/L. Similar values are reported for patients taking therapeutic trimipramine doses. At this serum concentration, the liver content of trimipramine and it's 2-hydroxy and N-desmethyl metabolites was 1750 microg/kg, 850 microg/kg, and 225 microg/kg, respectively. The liver was morphologically normal. Back calculations suggest that a liver transplant obtained from a donor dying from a trimipramine overdose should be safe, if the serum trimipramine concentration has fallen below 2000 microg/L. If higher serum trimipramine concentrations are present, harvesting should be delayed to avoid trimipramine toxicity in the recipient.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008099	Liver	A large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates that is responsible for detoxification, metabolism, synthesis and storage of various substances.	Livers
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000328	Adult	A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available.	Adults
D000929	Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic	Substances that contain a fused three-ring moiety and are used in the treatment of depression. These drugs block the uptake of norepinephrine and serotonin into axon terminals and may block some subtypes of serotonin, adrenergic, and histamine receptors. However, the mechanism of their antidepressant effects is not clear because the therapeutic effects usually take weeks to develop and may reflect compensatory changes in the central nervous system.	Antidepressants, Tricyclic,Tricyclic Antidepressant,Tricyclic Antidepressant Drug,Tricyclic Antidepressive Agent,Tricyclic Antidepressive Agents,Antidepressant Drugs, Tricyclic,Agent, Tricyclic Antidepressive,Agents, Tricyclic Antidepressive,Antidepressant Drug, Tricyclic,Antidepressant, Tricyclic,Antidepressive Agent, Tricyclic,Drug, Tricyclic Antidepressant,Drugs, Tricyclic Antidepressant,Tricyclic Antidepressant Drugs,Tricyclic Antidepressants
D014019	Tissue Donors	Individuals supplying living tissue, organs, cells, blood or blood components for transfer or transplantation to histocompatible recipients.	Organ Donors,Donors,Ovum Donors,Semen Donors,Transplant Donors,Donor,Donor, Organ,Donor, Ovum,Donor, Semen,Donor, Tissue,Donor, Transplant,Donors, Organ,Donors, Ovum,Donors, Semen,Donors, Tissue,Donors, Transplant,Organ Donor,Ovum Donor,Semen Donor,Tissue Donor,Transplant Donor
D014299	Trimipramine	Tricyclic antidepressant similar to IMIPRAMINE, but with more antihistaminic and sedative properties.	Trimeprimine,10,11 Dihydro-N,N,beta-trimethyl-5H-dibenz(b,f)azepine-5-propanamine,Apo-Trimip,Eldoral,Herphonal,Novo-Tripramine,Nu-Trimipramine,Rhotrimine,Stangyl,Surmontil,Surmontil Maleate,Trimidura,Trimineurin,Trimineurin Maleate,Trimipramin AZU,Trimipramin Beta,Trimipramin Stada,Trimipramin-Neurazpharm,Trimipramine Maleate,Trimipramine Maleate (1:1),Trimipramine Maleate (1:1), (+)-Isomer,Trimipramine Maleate (1:1), (+-)-Isomer,Trimipramine Maleate (1:1), (-)-Isomer,Trimipramine Mesylate,Trimipramine Monohydrochloride,Trimipramine, (+-)-Isomer,Trimipramine, (-)-Isomer,Apo Trimip,ApoTrimip,Beta, Trimipramin,Novo Tripramine,NovoTripramine,Nu Trimipramine,NuTrimipramine,Trimipramin Neurazpharm,TrimipraminNeurazpharm
D016031	Liver Transplantation	The transference of a part of or an entire liver from one human or animal to another.	Grafting, Liver,Hepatic Transplantation,Liver Transplant,Transplantation, Hepatic,Transplantation, Liver,Hepatic Transplantations,Liver Grafting,Liver Transplantations,Liver Transplants,Transplant, Liver
D062787	Drug Overdose	Accidental or deliberate use of a medication or street drug in excess of normal dosage.	Drug Overdoses,Overdose, Drug,Overdoses, Drug