Digitalis poisoning. Intoxications with antiarrhythmic agents and anticoagulants

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This topic is about cardiovascular drug intoxications that kill by rhythm disturbance or bleeding.

There are 3 emergency patterns to recognize:

Poisoning group	Main danger	Pattern recognition
Digitalis/digoxin	Life-threatening bradyarrhythmias, ventricular arrhythmias, hyperkalemia	GI symptoms + visual disturbance + “any arrhythmia”
Antiarrhythmic agents	Bradycardia, hypotension, QRS widening, QT prolongation, torsades de pointes	Shock + ECG conduction abnormality
Anticoagulants	Major bleeding, especially intracranial/GI/retroperitoneal bleeding	Bleeding + abnormal coagulation or recent anticoagulant use

Emergency logic:

Airway, Breathing, Circulation → ECG/bleeding assessment → stop drug → correct electrolytes/coagulation → give specific antidote → monitor continuously.

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