Amitraz poisoning – A case report of a common but highly misconstrued cause of poisoning in Zambia

Abstract

Amitraz is a widely available insecticide but whose human poisoning is highly under-recognized and mistaken for organophosphate poisoning. As a result, it is often mismanaged possibly resulting in suboptimal clinical outcomes. We present a case of a 55-year-old man who ingested Amitraz pesticide 3 hours prior to admission following a suicide attempt. His clinical condition rapidly deteriorated necessitating admission to the Intensive Care Unit. As there is no known effective antidote for human Amitraz poisoning in current medical practice, he was managed supportively but with excellent clinical outcome. Despite the lack of an effective antidote for human Amitraz poisoning, appropriate supportive management yields excellent clinical outcomes. However, misdiagnosis and incorrect treatment may result in severe effects on the body systems causing coma and respiratory failure which often yields fatal outcome especially  in resourcelimited settings like Zambia.

Keywords: Amitraz, Poisoning, Organophosphate, Treatment, Antidote