Altered Mental Status??

[AZCEP]

Wait a minute. The tussin that was in the med list was dosed by teaspoons. How can you take a gel filled capsule dosed this way?

If that's what he took, then grandma has been double dipping.

[chbare]

It was not Tussin. It was one of the other medications on the list.

Follow up on this patient:

During his stay in the ER his tox screen and CT were negative. He was transferred to the ICU and continued to receive ongoing sedation to prevent seizures. The next morning his neurological status returned to baseline and he was successfully extubated. The patient was subsequently discharged and returned home with an intact baseline neurological status. He went on to have a full uncomplicated recovery.

Take care,

chbare.

[Eydawn]

Benzonatate. Can be an oblong gelcap or the one with the T on it. It's a cough suppressant, overdose can cause seizures.

Thought it looked familiar... friend of mine had to take it a while ago but it was the capsule w/o the T on it.

Can someone go through the pharmacology of it and explain exactly what its mechanism is, what it does and why?

Wendy

CO EMT-B

MI EMT-B

[Laura Anne]

http://schoolasthmaallergy.com/html/medica...rt/30601027.HTM

Cough suppressant that in oral consumption will cause the reactions in the pediactric patient. Is this what the med was, chabare?

[chbare]

Good job everybody! The medication was in fact Benzonatate or Tessalon. This medication is chemically similar to many local anesthetics and has sodium channel blocking action. This accounts for the neurological effects of this medication. Think of lidocaine toxicity and the neurological side effects associated with that medication. I hope everybody enjoyed this scenario.

Take care,

chbare.

[Laura Anne]

As always chbare, you did a wonderful job with the scenario!! Thank you for sharing this with us. And I am also sorry for being lazy and just posting the link instead of actually typing it out, but it's late.... nighty-night!