Cardiac arrest caused by sibutramine obtained over the Internet: a case of a young woman without pre-existing cardiovascular disease successfully resuscitated using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

CASE

Sibutramine is a weight loss agent that was withdrawn from the market in the USA and European Union because it increases adverse events in patients with cardiovascular diseases. However, non-prescription weight loss pills containing sibutramine can be still easily purchased over the Internet.

UNLABELLED

A 21-year-old woman without history of cardiovascular diseases developed cardiac arrest. She was a user of a weight loss pills, containing sibutramine and hypokalemia-inducing agents, imported from Thailand over the Internet.

OUTCOME

She was successfully resuscitated without any neurological deficits by using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for refractory ventricular fibrillation.

CONCLUSION

This case indicates that sibutramine can cause cardiac arrest even in subjects without pre-existing cardiovascular disease when combined with agents that promote QT prolongation.