Snapshot
Volume 202 - Issue 9
The trumpet's blown pupil
Authors: Chris Plummer and Adam Dangoor
Med J Aust 2015; 202 (9): 497. || doi: 10.5694/mja15.00150
Published online: 18 May 2015
Published online: 18 May 2015
A gardener experiences the power of an ancient alkaloid
On the advice of a neurologist friend (author C P), a 42-year-old man was rushed to hospital with a fixed dilated pupil (Figure, A). His condition was otherwise normal, as were the findings of urgent magnetic resonance imaging and angiography of the brain.
By Day 3, his mydriasis had resolved (as did the mystery) when the patient asked his “learned” friend how common eye injuries with whipper-snippers were. He mentioned, in passing, that on the morning of the incident he had cut back his beloved Angel's trumpet (Figure, B) — a member of the Solanaceae family, all parts of which are laced with anticholinergic alkaloids.
A detailed history, botanical or otherwise, will always trump the next best test.
Competing interests
No relevant disclosures.
Provenance: Not commissioned; not externally peer reviewed.