OBJECTIVE: Benzydamine is a non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug used as vaginal lavage for non-specific vaginitis. Data on overdoses are scarce despite its wide availability. METHODS: Retrospective analyses of single ingestions of benzydamine vaginal irrigation products from January 1991 to December 2003 reported to the Spanish Poison Control Centre. RESULTS: 724 cases met the inclusion criteria; 86.2% of the patients were over age 14 years. Gender was not a factor in young children but 80.9% of patients older than 14 years were female. In 85.9% of cases, benzydamine was ingested when it was mistaken for an oral preparation or for an oral antiseptic. The rest were unintentional exposures in children (13.8%) or suicidal attempts (0.3%). Clinical signs or symptoms, when present, were mainly gastrointestinal (48% of symptomatic patients) followed by neurological (31%) or both (21%). The most common symptom was nausea (32.8% of symptomatic patients) followed by vomiting (27.9%), dizziness (20.1%), hallucinations (15.3%), abdominal pain (13.4%), and esophageal irritation and agitation (10.5%, each). Six of 68 children (mean age 6.2, range 3-11 years) had hallucinations. A severe case was that of a 4-year-old child who had convulsions caused by the unintentional ingestion of benzydamine. CONCLUSION: This is the largest report of benzydamine ingestions. The outstanding feature was the high percentage of neurological manifestations in children and adults, mainly hallucinations, following the ingestion of an over-the-counter product.
OBJECTIVE:Benzydamine is a non-steroidal antiinflammatory drug used as vaginal lavage for non-specific vaginitis. Data on overdoses are scarce despite its wide availability. METHODS: Retrospective analyses of single ingestions of benzydamine vaginal irrigation products from January 1991 to December 2003 reported to the Spanish Poison Control Centre. RESULTS: 724 cases met the inclusion criteria; 86.2% of the patients were over age 14 years. Gender was not a factor in young children but 80.9% of patients older than 14 years were female. In 85.9% of cases, benzydamine was ingested when it was mistaken for an oral preparation or for an oral antiseptic. The rest were unintentional exposures in children (13.8%) or suicidal attempts (0.3%). Clinical signs or symptoms, when present, were mainly gastrointestinal (48% of symptomatic patients) followed by neurological (31%) or both (21%). The most common symptom was nausea (32.8% of symptomatic patients) followed by vomiting (27.9%), dizziness (20.1%), hallucinations (15.3%), abdominal pain (13.4%), and esophageal irritation and agitation (10.5%, each). Six of 68 children (mean age 6.2, range 3-11 years) had hallucinations. A severe case was that of a 4-year-old child who had convulsions caused by the unintentional ingestion of benzydamine. CONCLUSION: This is the largest report of benzydamine ingestions. The outstanding feature was the high percentage of neurological manifestations in children and adults, mainly hallucinations, following the ingestion of an over-the-counter product.