Central Agonists For High Blood Pressure: Types, Side Effects, Drug Interactions
Conclusion
In summary, central agonists, a notable class of hypertension medications, offer an alternative modality when other first-line antihypertensive treatments fail to show desired results or cause intolerable side effects.
They operate via a unique neurocentric mechanism that primarily functions centrally in the brain, impacting blood pressure regulation by decreasing systemic arterial pressure and heart rate.
Despite their potential side effects and potential for interactions with other drugs, their therapeutic utility in the context of hypertension management remains undiminished.
Moreover, certain cen...
Source: The EMT Spot - July 27, 2023 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Michael Rotman, MD, FRCPC, PhD Tags: Blood Pressure Source Type: blogs
August 2021: Adulterant in Fentanyl Complicates OD
A 38-year-old woman with opioid use disorder presented to the emergency department after an unintentional overdose. EMS said the patient was found with decreased respirations, and she was given 2 mg intranasal naloxone. She was awake, alert, and oriented x 3 in the emergency department.She reported that she used one bundle of fentanyl/heroin a day intravenously and that she had recently been hospitalized for four weeks for a wound infection. She stated that she used her usual dosage of fentanyl/heroin on discharge, not realizing how much her tolerance had decreased.She also said the fentanyl contained “tranq" (xy...
Source: The Tox Cave - August 2, 2021 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Normal Toddler Behavior vs ADHD
An official diagnosis of ADHD can be hard to pinpoint as its symptoms can often be indicative of other conditions, but it is especially hard to diagnose in children under the age of four, as most children naturally experience about a year of extreme energy that generally encompasses their third birthday. This realization may be, in turn, both comforting and exhausting as parents learn that their toddler is likely just exhibiting the rampant energy normal for their age group.
What is ADHD?
Children with an official diagnosis of ADHD consistently present symptoms of inattentiveness, over-activity, impulsivity, or some combin...
Source: Conversations with Dr Greene - May 18, 2021 Category: Child Development Authors: Alan Greene MD Tags: Dr. Greene's Blog ADHD Toddler ADHD Source Type: blogs
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is characterized by orthostatic tachycardia in the absence of orthostatic hypotension. Criteria for diagnosis of POTS are as follows: 1. Heart rate increase ≥30 beats per minute from supine to standing (5-30 min) 2. Symptoms get worse with standing and better on lying down 3. Symptoms lasting ≥6 months 4. Absence of other overt cause of orthostatic symptoms or tachycardia like active bleeding, acute dehydration and medications [1]. As children have higher orthostatic tachycardia, a cut off of ≥40 beats per minute within 5 minutes of head up tilt has been suggested in...
Source: Cardiophile MD - April 6, 2021 Category: Cardiology Authors: Prof. Dr. Johnson Francis Tags: ECG / Electrophysiology Source Type: blogs
April 2021: An Eye on the Problem
A 3-year-old boy presented to the emergency department with lethargy. He was bradycardic and somnolent, responding only to physical stimuli. His vital signs were a temperature of 37°C, a heart rate of 50 bpm, a respiratory rate of 26 breaths per minute, a blood pressure of 92/41 mm Hg, and a pulse oximetry of 100% on room air.When awoken, the child answered questions appropriately but then fell back asleep quickly. His pupils were pinpoint. There were no signs of trauma. A cardiac examination demonstrated bradycardia, and the remainder of the examination was unremarkable.The child was given an IV fluid bolus and placed...
Source: The Tox Cave - April 1, 2021 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Top 25 Psychiatric Medications for 2018
Psychiatric medications are an important part of treatment for many people with mental disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, schizophrenia, anxiety, and others. They play an important role in helping to alleviate the most serious symptoms, allowing people to better focus on their lives and on other treatment types, such as psychotherapy. Psychiatric medications are an important part of many people’s treatment plans for obtaining the most effective treatment for a mental health concern or mental illness.
It’s good to know what drugs are being prescribed most often for mental disorders in the U.S...
Source: World of Psychology - December 15, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: John M. Grohol, Psy.D. Tags: General Medications Psychiatry psychiatric meds psychiatric prescriptions Source Type: blogs
Think your child has ADHD? What your pediatrician can — and should — do
ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is the most common neurobehavioral disorder of childhood. It affects approximately 7% to 8% of all children and youth in the US. As the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) pointed out in their recent clinical practice guideline for ADHD, that’s more than the mental health system can handle, which means that pediatricians need to step up and help out.
So, if your child is having problems with attention, focus, hyperactivity, impulsivity, or some combination of those, and is at least 4 years old, your first step should be an appointment with your child’s primary care do...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 15, 2019 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Claire McCarthy, MD Tags: Adolescent health Children's Health Neurological conditions Parenting Source Type: blogs
Does Clonidine Work Managing Withdrawal Symptoms?
What is Clonidine?
Originally developed as a nasal decongestant, Clonidine has been found to work very well for patients experiencing withdrawal symptoms from opiates. According to the JamaNetwork, Clonidine produces a rapid and statistically significant decrease in opiate withdrawal signs and symptoms. Clonidine administration for 14 days enabled all patients to be successfully detoxified from chronic opiate administration. In all patients studied, clonidine was a safe and effective non-opiate treatment of opiate withdrawal that suppressed the effect, signs, and symptoms of opiate withdrawal.
Withdrawal Symptoms
When some...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - April 18, 2019 Category: Addiction Authors: Jaclyn Uloth Tags: Addiction Addiction Recovery Anxiety Detox Resources for Alcohol and Drugs/Opiates Drug Rehab Information Drug Treatment Substance Abuse drug detox medicated-assisted detox opiate abuse opiate addiction opioid opioids prescriptio Source Type: blogs
Medications That Can Cause Depression
There is nothing more frustrating than when the cure is part of the problem. Because depression is prevalent in patients with physical disorders like cancer, stroke, and heart disease, medications often interact with each other, complicating treatment. To appropriately manage depression, you and your physician need to evaluate all medications involved and make sure they aren’t cancelling each other out.
A review in the journal Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience a while back highlighted certain medications that can cause depression. The following are medications to watch out for.
Medications to Treat Seizures and Parkinso...
Source: World of Psychology - March 31, 2019 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Therese J. Borchard Tags: Depression Medications Drug Interactions Mood Disorder Source Type: blogs
Goodbye to Compounded Analgesic Creams
This study is one of the largest and best-designed study I ' m aware of of these creams, and the findings are pretty clear: such creams benefit patients via placebo mechanisms, aka they don ' t work.Note that there is a separate body of research on some other topicals which should not be confused with this study. Eg, the 5% lidocaine patch for post-herpetic neuralgia, topical capsaicin for a variety of neuropathies, and at least some topical NSAIDs for osteoarthritis, and topical opioids. I ' m not broadly endorsing those either - it ' s complicated - however they weren ' t tested here and the take home point is we should ...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - February 11, 2019 Category: Palliative Care Source Type: blogs
The Atomizer and Naloxone: Life-Saving Treatment for Opioid ODs
The atomizer is a handy tool to instill life-saving medication into the nose, and you should consider stocking them if you don't already. An atomizer can be used to administer naloxone and countless other drugs as well as for moderate sedation and pain control. Pediatric and adult patients alike can benefit from intranasal fentanyl or Versed. Studies on intranasal epinephrine for anaphylaxis also look promising, but it does require a higher dose—5 mg instead of 0.3 mg. (Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol 2016;34[1]:38; http://bit.ly/2Prpjhb.)The atomizer is easy to use and can be attached to any syringe. Each spray c...
Source: The Procedural Pause - December 4, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
Americans Fighting the Opioid Crisis in Their Own Backyards
Credit: New York Times article, Jan. 19, 2016.
The United States is in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. The rates of opioid addiction, babies born addicted to opioids, and overdoses have skyrocketed in the past decade. No population has been hit harder than rural communities. Many of these communities are in states with historically low levels of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIGMS’ Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program builds research capacities in these states by supporting basic, clinical, and translational research, as well as faculty development and infrastructure improveme...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - August 1, 2018 Category: Research Authors: Chris Palmer Tags: Pharmacology Medicines Opioids Pain Source Type: blogs
Zero tolerance for low blood pressure
Just as we have zero tolerance for hypoglycemia in the Wheat Belly lifestyle, we also have zero tolerance for hypotension, or low blood pressure (BP).
Follow the Wheat Belly lifestyle free of ciabattas, penne pasta, and tortellini, and blood sugars plummet. If you are injecting insulin or taking other diabetes drugs, hypoglycemia is a risk and can be dangerous, resulting in loss of consciousness and injury. We therefore urge everyone to talk to their doctor about discontinuing or reducing insulin and diabetes drugs immediately upon starting the Wheat Belly lifestyle. Unfortunately, the majority of doctors don’t under...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - May 8, 2018 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr. Davis Tags: Wheat Belly Lifestyle blood pressure blood sugar BP gluten-free grain-free grains health hypertension hypertensive Source Type: blogs
The Agony of Withdrawal
Part 3 in a Four-Part SeriesA 26-year-old man presented with fatigue. He complained of body aches, diarrhea, and nausea. His history was significant for chronic back pain, for which he had been prescribed oxycodone that he has taken daily for three years. He reported that he had stopped taking it two days before his visit.He denied other medication or drug use. He was alert but restless and diaphoretic. His ECG showed sinus tachycardia. His labs included a WBC of 12, Hgb of 12, glucose of 89 mg/dL, creatinine of 1.0 mg/dL, sodium of 140 mEq/L, potassium of 3.8 mEq/L, and CK of 140 U/L. He was experiencing opioid with...
Source: The Tox Cave - February 28, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
