Turkish Journal of
GERIATRICS

Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Kartal Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi I. Anestezi ve Reanimasyon Kliniği, İSTANBUL We report a poisoning caused by the intake of tea prepared from the plant Hyoscyamus niger of a elderely man. Hyoscyamus niger is a hallucinogenic plant, widely spread and easy accessible, which contains anticholinergic substances. Ingestion, intentional or accidental, can provoke serious worsening of physical state and can cause central anticholinergic syndrome which may present with a wide variety of signs and central or periferic symptomps. Central manifestations range from excitatory symptoms including delirium and agitation to central nervous system depression, stupor and coma. Peripheral indications of this syndrome include dry mouth, hyperthermia as a result of loss of sweating, tachycardia, arrhytmias, constipation and urinary retantion. Diagnosis is made by clinical symptomatology and history. Therapeutic acts include supportive therapy, stomach lavage, active choaral and physostigmine as a specific antidote. Keywords : Plants-toxic, Anticholinergic syndrome, Hyoscyamus niger