The Use of Extracorporeal Life Support in a Patient Suffering from Venlafaxine Intoxication. A Case Report

Very few reports exist on serious cardiac complications associated with intake of serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors. This paper describes and discusses the case of a patient who ingested a dose of 17.5 g venlafaxine. She developed a full serotonergic syndrome leading to multi-organ failure, including refractory cardiovascular shock, which was managed by early implantation of an extracorporeal life support (ECLS) system as a bridging strategy. This intervention was successful and resulted in full recovery of the patient.