RT Journal Article
T1 Seafood Intoxication by Tetrodotoxin: First Case in Europe
A1 Fernández Ortega, Juan Francisco
A1 Morales de los Santos, José M.
A1 Herrera-Gutiérrez, Manuel Enrique
A1 Fernández Sánchez, Victoria Eugenia
A1 Rodríguez Loureo, Paula
A1 Alfonso Rancaño, Amparo
A1 Téllez Andrade, Andrés
K1 Intoxicación por marisco
K1 Tetrodotoxina
AB Background: Tetrodotoxin is considered the most lethal toxin in the marine environment. Prior cases of intoxication previously described correspond to consumption of tetrodotoxin in tropical or subtropical regions of Asia or the Pacific Islands.Objectives: We present the first European case of tetrodotoxin intoxication in a patient who ingested part of a trumpet shellfish (Charonia sauliae) from the Atlantic Ocean in Southern Europe.Case report: Our patient suffered general paralysis, including the respiratory muscles, a few minutes after the consumption of a few grams of C. sauliae. Intubation and mechanical ventilation were necessary for 52 h after the intoxication. The corresponding electrophysiologic studies showed complete non-excitability, with no recordable sensory or motor nerve conduction. We detected the presence of tetrodotoxin in the mollusk and the patient's blood and urine by means of high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis technique. A previous bioassay showed extremely high quantities of the toxin in the mollusk.Conclusions: This case alerts us to the possibility of a very harmful biotoxin in European coastal waters. This now should be included in the differential diagnosis of similar cases in Europe, and we must be vigilant for its possible presence in Europe.
PB Elsevier
YR 2009
FD 2009
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/41308
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/41308
LA eng
NO Fernández-Ortega JF, Morales-de los Santos JM, Herrera-Gutiérrez ME, Fernández-Sánchez V, Rodríguez Loureo P, Rancaño AA, Téllez-Andrade A. Seafood intoxication by tetrodotoxin: first case in Europe. J Emerg Med. 2010 Nov;39(5):612-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2008.09.024. Epub 2009 Feb 6. PMID: 19201132.
NO https://openpolicyfinder.jisc.ac.uk/id/publication/12951
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 24 ene 2026