The Jittery Patient

​A 22-year-old woman with no past medical history presented to the emergency department with palpitations. She reported that she had ingested a handful of caffeine tablets with a large glass of wine two hours earlier. She reported feeling "stressed out" and wanting to hurt herself. The patient was alert but appeared anxious on arrival at the ED.Her blood pressure was 90/49 mm Hg, heart rate was 115 beats/min, respiratory rate was 20 breaths/min, and SPO2 was 100% on room air. An ECG showed sinus tachycardia at 120 beats/min with normal intervals. Shortly after arrival, her blood pressure dropped to 83/42 mm Hg, and she appeared drowsy.Comparing Caffeinated ProductsType of Coffee                         Size                      CaffeineBrewed                                    8 oz. (237 mL)        95-200 mgBrewed, decaffeinated           8 oz. (237 mL)        2-12 mgBrewed, single-serve           &#...
Source: The Tox Cave - Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs