Toxicity from toad venom poisoning is similar to digoxin toxicity and
carries a high mortality rate. We report on six previously healthy men
who developed vomiting and bradycardia after ingesting a purported to
pical aphrodisiac. Each patient had positive apparent digoxin levels a
nd the first four patients died of cardiac dysrhythmias. The last two
patients recovered following treatment with digoxin Fab fragments. We
analyzed samples of the purported aphrodisiac and found that it was id
entical to Chan Su, a Chinese medication made from toad venom. to our
knowledge, this is the first reported use of digoxin Fab fragments to
treat toad venom poisoning.