Acute Systemic Toxicity Associated with Ingestion of Juniper Tar

Abstract

Juniper Tar has been utilized in traditional folk medicine to treat various ailments. Despite its historical use, documented cases are scarce regarding the potential complications associated with Juniper Tar, some of which have been fatal. A 62-year-old male patient with no previous medical history presented to the emergency department complaining of confusion and respiratory distress after drinking a glass of Juniper Tar approximately four hours ago. The patient, who experienced multiple seizures and cardiac arrest at the emergency department, was discharged after an 11-day intensive care unit monitoring period. We present this case to raise awareness among emergency physicians about Juniper Tar, which is widely used for various purposes in folk medicine and cosmetics but can cause poisoning due to its content of essential oils, triterpenes, and phenols. This is a case of cardiac arrest and status epilepticus associated with juniper tar poisoning.