Near Fatal Poisoning Due to Accidental Ingestion of an Overdose of Dextro Propoxyphene Hydrochloride by a Two-Year-Old Child

Abstract

DEXTRO propoxyphene hydrochloride, with the chemical name of alpha-d-4-dimethylamino-1,-2-diphenyl-3-methyl-2-propionoxybutane (Darvon), synthesized by Pohland and Sullivanf in 1953, is now widely used as an analgesic. The drug can be obtained in 32-mg. and 65-mg. pulvules, and a compound is formed from the combination of 32 mg. or 65 mg. of dextro propoxyphene with acetophenetidin (162 mg.), acetylsalicylic acid (227 mg.) and caffeine (32 mg.).Since no case of respiratory depression in human beings related to toxicity from this drug could be found in the medical literature, it seems important to report a nearly fatal case of poisoning in a two-year-old child, . . .