An enzymatic electrocardiographic study on toxicity of dehydroemetine.

Abstract

Over half a century has elapsed since the intro- duction of emetine as an amrebicide, and it has been almost that long since the first report of cardio- toxicity due to the drug; yet considerable contro- versy still exists as to the nature, frequency, and usual severity of this seemingly capricious side- effect of a widely used agent. The occasional fatality (Kattwinkel, 1949) reported and the difficulty in determining beforehand which patients are likely to have trouble with the drug have led to attempts to modify both the structure of the compound (Osbond, 1959; Brossi et al., 1959a; Brossi, Bau- mann, and Schnider, 1959b; Child et al., 1964) and the activity of patients before and after treatment (Lepeschkin, 1951). Some of the suggested lists of therapeutic precautions, e.g. that of Dack and Moloshok (1947), have been rigid enough to be challenged (Kent and Kingsland, 1950) or ignored, particularly in those parts of the world where there is a great deal of amoebiasis and few hospital beds.