Postgraduate medical journal
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Cerebral venous thrombosis is a treatable and under-recognised cause of a benign intracranial hypertension syndrome, and may also cause focal signs, seizures, and depression of consciousness.
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Comparative Study
The risk of severe salicylate poisoning following the ingestion of topical medicaments or aspirin.
Apart from isolated reports of severe salicylate poisoning after ingesting an unusually large amount of a medicinal oil, there are no published data on the threat arising from attempted suicide with topical medicaments containing methyl salicylate or wintergreen oil compared with aspirin tablets. In this retrospective study, the admission plasma salicylate concentrations and clinical presentations were compared in 80 subjects who had taken aspirin tablets (n = 42) or topical medicaments (n = 38). ⋯ Because of its liquid, concentrated form and lipid solubility, methyl salicylate poses the threat of severe, rapid-onset salicylate poisoning. The toxic potential of topical medicaments containing methyl salicylate or wintergreen oil should be fully appreciated by both physicians and the general public.