Skip to content

Serotonin syndrome

Videos

Notes

Behavioral sciences

Psychological disorders

Mood disorders
Anxiety disorders
Obsessive-compulsive disorders
Stress-related disorders and abuse
Psychotic disorders
Cognitive and dissociative disorders
Eating disorders
Personality disorders
Somatoform and factitious disorders
Substance use disorders and drugs of abuse
Sleep disorders
Sexual dysfunction disorders
Pediatric disorders
Psychiatric emergencies
Psychological disorders review

Assessments
Serotonin syndrome

Flashcards

0 / 8 complete

Questions

0 / 2 complete
High Yield Notes
15 pages
Flashcards

Serotonin syndrome

8 flashcards
Questions

USMLE® Step 1 style questions USMLE

2 questions
Preview

A 55-year-old woman comes to the emergency department (ED) for evaluation of recurrent left flank pain and vomiting. She has a history of recurrent nephrolithiasis and recently noticed gross blood in her urine. Medical history is notable for obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, depression, and type II diabetes mellitus. The patient has been taking ondansetron at home for nausea as well as losartan, metformin, rosuvastatin, and sertraline for her other medical conditions. On physical exam, the patient has left costovertebral angle tenderness. Blood is detected on urinalysis. The patient's symptoms are well controlled during the ED visit, and she is subsequently discharged with prescription analgesia, additional antiemetics, and urology follow-up. Three days later, the patient is brought back to the ED altered, diaphoretic, and agitated. Temperature is 39.4°C (103°F), pulse is 122/min, respirations are 20/min, and blood pressure is 184/95 mmHg. She has bilateral mydriasis and myoclonus. Which of the following medications was the most likely precipitant of this patient's clinical presentation?

External References
Summary

Serotonin syndrome is a potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when there is an excess of serotonin, a neurotransmitter in the brain, leading to a dangerous increase in nerve cell activity. Serotonin syndrome can occur as a result of taking certain medications, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) or taking a combination of medications that increase serotonin levels. Symptoms include agitation, confusion, muscle rigidity and hyperreflexia, hypertension, dysrhythmias, diaphoresis, and tachypnea. Treatment may include discontinuing the culprit drug, supportive management, and providing cyproheptadine.