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Near‐fatal, antihypertensive medication overdose due to post‐operative gastric ileus
Author(s) -
Selden N.,
Shugarts S.,
Wu A.,
Lung D.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.622
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2710
pISSN - 0269-4727
DOI - 10.1111/jcpt.12201
Subject(s) - medicine , ileus , labetalol , complication , anesthesia , bradycardia , bolus (digestion) , surgery , blood pressure , heart rate
Summary What is known and objective Post‐operative gastrointestinal ileus is a common complication that can cause erratic absorption of oral pharmaceuticals. Case summary This is a case of near‐fatal, antihypertensive medication overdose due to gastric ileus in a 40‐year‐old patient following combined kidney–pancreas transplant. After being transitioned from intravenous to oral antihypertensive medications, the patient sustained pulseless bradycardia requiring resuscitative measures. Suspicion of accumulated medication bolus due to gastric ileus was confirmed by supratherapeutic serum labetalol measurement of 493 ng/mL (therapeutic range: 30–180 ng/mL). What is new and conclusion Judicious use of oral pharmaceuticals, particularly those with relatively narrow therapeutic ranges, is warranted in patients with post‐operative ileus.