Survival after severe ecstasy intoxication

: We report the case of a 20-year-old man with MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) intoxication after a single ingestion of ecstasy. As in most severe cases, this patient exhibited hyperthermia, convulsions, disseminated intravascular coagulation, rhabdomyolysis and renal failure. The patient survived, but with severe brain damage. Toxicological findings taken 12 hours after the incident revealed a toxic/fatal amount of MDMA. The clinical and biochemical findings are discussed.