Fatal injection of ranitidine: a case report

Antonio Oliva,Nadia Fucci,Sara Partemi,Vincenzo L Pascali,Fabio De Giorgio,Vincenzo Arena,Catia Colecchi

doi:10.1186/1752-1947-2-232

Antonio Oliva, Nadia Fucci + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-2-232

Copy DOI

Abstract

IntroductionRanitidine hydrochloride (Zantac®), a histamine-2-receptor antagonist, is a widely used medication with an excellent safety record. Anaphylactic reaction to ranitidine is an extremely rare event and a related death has never been described in the literature.Case presentationWe present the clinical history, histological and toxicological data of a 51-year-old man with negative anamnesis for allergic events, who died suddenly after the intravenous administration of one phial of Zantac® 50 mg prescribed as a routine post-surgical prophylaxis for stress ulcer.ConclusionAlthough the incidence of anaphylactic reactions related to ranitidine is low, caution needs to be exercised on administration of this drug. In addition, further study is needed to define strategies for the prevention of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients.

Highlights

Ranitidine hydrochloride (Zantac®), a histamine-2-receptor antagonist, is a widely used medication with an excellent safety record
Ranitidine hydrochloride (Zantac®) is a histamine-2receptor antagonist (H2RA) medication used in peptic ulcer disease therapy, acute stress ulcers, gastroesophageal reflux and related disorders
Ranitidine has an excellent safety record [2,3] and we found no reports of fatalities related to this drug in the literature, the incidence of anaphylactic reaction to H2RAs and proton pump inhibitors together has been reported as 0.3% to 0.7%

Summary

Conclusion

We have described the only fatal reaction related to ranitidine in the literature to date. Reactions to this extensively used drug are very rare in clinical practice. This case suggests that, the incidence of anaphylactic reactions related to ranitidine is low, caution needs to be exercised on administration of this drug. Further study is needed to define strategies for the prevention of ADRs in hospitalized patients. ADR: Adverse drug reaction; BPH: Benign prostatic hyperplasia; H2RA: Histamine-2-receptor antagonist

Introduction

Discussion

Katzung B

14. Bates DW