history of insomnia and chronic pain presented with severely altered mental status
A 72-year old female with a history of insomnia and chronic pain presented with severely altered mental status, disorientation, agitation and extremely aggressive behavior. She was brought to the Emergency Department late in the evening by her very concerned husband. The patient was admitted to the hospital and had to be restrained for her own safety as well as that of hospital personnel; she was treated with haloperidol. The hospital pharmacist subsequently conducted a reconciliation of the patient’s medication profile with the assistance of her husband that helped to reveal the cause of the patient’s delirium: she had inadvertantly taken an overdose of zolpidem several hours prior to admission. The patient’s symptoms resolved after several days, and she had no recollection of the incident.
Discuss how to Determine the Cause of Delirium Through Medication History Reconciliation
