Massive colchicine overdose: a report on the toxicity

A case of an overdose of colchicine for suicidal purposes is presented. The main complications observed involved the hematopoietic, the gastrointestinal, the respiratory and the central nervous system. Heinz bodies were noticed in the red blood cells, a finding which had not been previously documented in patients with colchicine overdose. Despite intensive management the patient died on the thirteenth hospital day of central nervous system complications.