Joel B. Spear, MD; Harold A. Kessler, MD; Sandra Nusinoff Lehrman, MD; Paulo de Miranda, PhD
Zidovudine (also known as azidothymidine or AZT) is a 2′,3′-dideoxynucleoside analogue with antiviral activity against the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Preclinical toxicity studies (1) of zidovudine administered to rats and mice showed that greater than 750 mg/kg body weight is an acute lethal intravenous dose. Signs of acute toxicity included labored breathing, decreased activity, and ptosis. In all survivors physical signs were normal within 2 hours of dosing, and no abnormalities were noted when the animals were killed 14 days after dosing. We report the first case of acute zidovudine overdosage in humans.
A 26-year-old man with the acquired immunodeficiency
Spear JB, Kessler HA, Lehrman SN, de Miranda P. Zidovudine Overdosage. Ann Intern Med. ;109:76–77. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-109-1-76
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© 2019
Published: Ann Intern Med. 1988;109(1):76-77.
DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-109-1-76
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