Emergency Cases Northwest Group

042 Drugs Not Guilty

Situation

Man with an overdose was hypoxic; he had incidental pneumonia.

Background

50 year old man took an overdose of benzodiazepines. He needed oxygen to maintain O2Sats. This was attributed to being drowsy as a result of the overdose. He had no other signs or symptoms [giving a clear history]. After admission the medical team diagnosed pneumonia on CXR.

Assessment

His low O2Sats were not caused by CNS depression from the benzodiazepines. He had a completely incidental and unexpected pneumonia. In retrospect he wasn’t that drowsy!

Recommendation

Before ascribing low O2Sats to the effects of a drug overdose and CNS depression correlate with the degree of drowsiness the patient exhibits.

Do consider a CXR if any doubt and also remember the possibility of aspiration.



PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE ANY PATIENT IDENTIFIABLE DATA OR GEO-LOCATION DATA IN THE SUBMISSION OR IN ANY ATTACHED IMAGES

Emergency Cases Northwest Group