So, I have to thank Dr. Clancy for this inspiration. I came across this in September during my toxiciology rotation. It is the kind of thing that is not mainstream, but knowing about it and when to use it might potentially save a life.
The article, Lipid Emulsion Infusion: Resuscitation for Local Anesthetic and Other Drug Overdose, by Guy L. Weinberg, M.D., is from July 2012, published in Anesthesiology. It summarizes current knowledge and use of this treatment in potentially fatal overdoses of lipophilic drugs (Calcium channel blockers, Beta-blockers and Tricyclics to name a few) in a resuscitation scenario.
There is also a website which is well organized and easy to read, has a link to this article ( for free), and which is also a source for collecting cases to gather more data. www.lipidrescue.org
I have never actually seen this treatment used, but it might be worth knowing about.
Enjoy!
Naomi
Timely resource, Naomi. I was at the AAP National conference recently and one of the featured speakers (a toxicologist) in the Section of Emergency Medicine discussed this very topic. He also shared a personal story of successfully using intralipids for a calcium channel blocker overdose.
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