An Infant Fatality Due to Hydroxychloroquine Poisoning

Abstract

A 2 1/2-year-old boy was hospitalized following ingestion of an estimated 60 tablets of 200-mg hydroxychloroquine. Upon death from cardiorespiratory arrest, analytes from the stomach, small intestine, liver, and plasma were examined using UV spectroscopy, thin-layer chromatography, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Results indicate modest drug amounts in the stomach and small intestine, but much higher levels in the blood and liver extracts, suggesting that a considerable overdose was consumed.