Acute intentional caffeine overdose treated preemptively with hemodialysis

Abstract

Caffeine is the most commonly used central nervous system stimulant. While it has a high LD₅₀ (150-200 mg/kg), when ingested in significant quantity, caffeine can lead to severe and even lethal side effects. Manifestation of toxicity include tachyarrhythmias, seizures, and metabolic derangements which can eventually lead to cardiovascular collapse and death. Studies have shown that lethal doses of caffeine (80-100 μg/mL) can be seen with the ingestion of approximately 10 g of caffeine. Due to the low number of reported cases, there is no consensus on the standard of care for treatment of suspected caffeine overdose. This case details a 39-year-old male who presented to the emergency department (ED) after having ingested 50 g of caffeine. Despite a high dose esmolol infusion, the patient exhibited worsening tachyarrhythmias. Hemodialysis was started empirically given the known amount ingested and ongoing hemodynamic perturbations. Initial pre-dialysis caffeine level was found to be 254 μg/ml. After treatment with two sessions of hemodialysis the patient's caffeine level decreased dramatically. We believe this is the first case report to demonstrate the success of preemptive hemodialysis, prior to cardiovascular collapse and/or renal failure, in a case of caffeine overdose and should be considered very early in patients presenting with recent toxic ingestion.