Accidental intravenous administration of 50 mg of racemic adrenaline in a 2-year-old boy.

A 2-year-old boy received, by mistake, 50 mg racemic adrenaline intravenously, equivalent to 1.8 mg kg-1 of L-adrenaline. The blood pressure increased to 160/105 mmHg, the heart rate to 160 beats min-1, and pulmonary oedema developed over the next 2 h. He was treated with nitroprusside, nitroglycerin and digitoxin, and was intubated and ventilated. After 3 h a hypotensive phase occurred which required infusions of very high concentrations of catecholamines for 72 h. Renal failure required renal transplantation after which the child made an uneventful recovery.