Memory Impairment following Acute Tricyclic Antidepressants Overdose

Abstract

Background. Psychiatric consultation is necessary for all patients with intentional poisoning and its reliability depends on the proper function of patients' memory performance. This study aimed to determine the possible memory impairment following acute TCAs' poisoning. Materials and Methods. In this cross-sectional study, patients with acute TCAs poisoning were allocated to two groups of severe poisoning (with coma, seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, hypotension, and a wide QRS complex) and mild-to-moderate poisoning according to their clinical presentation at the time of hospital admission. All patients underwent memory performance test both immediately and 24 hours after their initial consciousness after admission, using Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV). Results. During the study period, 67 TCA-poisoned patients (aged, 20-64 years) were evaluated, of which 67.2 were female. The mean memory scores of patients immediately and 24 hours after the initial consciousness were 31.43 +/- 9.02 and 50.62 +/- 9.12, respectively (P < 0.001). Twenty-four hours after the initial consciousness, memory score was statistically correlated with the amount of ingested drug and the intoxication severity. Conclusion. Following the recovery from somatic symptoms of acute TCA poisoning, patients may still suffer from memory impairment and it seems that this time is not suitable for performing a reliable psychiatric consultation.