Serotonin Syndrome
Original Editors -HannahAnderson & Millie Ware from Bellarmine University's Pathophysiology of Complex Patient Problems project.
Lead Editors - Your name will be added here if you are a lead editor on this page. Read more.
Definition/Description[edit | edit source]
add text here
Prevalence[edit | edit source]
- Serotonin Syndrome is on the rise, however information on it is limited.
- According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, in 2002 there were over 7,000 cases of Serotonin Syndrome and of those 93 cases were fatal.
- Approximately 10% of the adult population in the U.S. reports having Depression.
- In 2011, the U.S. Center of Disease Control finished a study about the number of Americans taking Anti-depressants. The CDC found that one in every ten people over the age of 12 years old is taking an antidepressant.
- According to the Migraine Research Foundation, every one of four homes in the U.S. has someone who experiences migraines.
- The American Migraine Foundation states that 36 million Americans suffer from migraines.
Characteristics/Clinical Presentation[edit | edit source]
add text here
Associated Co-morbidities[edit | edit source]
- Depression
- Migraine Headaches
- Cluster Headaches
Medications[edit | edit source]
add text here
Diagnostic Tests/Lab Tests/Lab Values[edit | edit source]
Typically to diagnose Serotonin Syndrome, physicians will do various diagnostic tests to rule out other diseases and causes of the patient’s signs and symptoms. Tests may include:
- Blood cultures
- Complete blood count
- Drug screen
- Electrolyte levels
- Electrocardiogram
- Kidney and liver function tests
- Thyroid function tests
- Check body functions that may be affected by Serotonin Syndrome
Physician's will use either Hunter's Serotonin Toxicity Criteria: Decision Rules or Sternbach's Criteria to diagnose.
Etiology/Causes[edit | edit source]
add text here
Systemic Involvement[edit | edit source]
Musculoskeletal System
o Clonus
o Muscle rigidity
o Hyperreflexia
Central Nervous System
o Altered mental status, delirium, agitation
o Akathisia (RLS)
Autonomic Nervous System
o Changes in blood pressure
o Tachycardia
o Increase in body Temperature
o Gastrointestinal System: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting
Medical Management (current best evidence)[edit | edit source]
add text here
Physical Therapy Management (current best evidence)[edit | edit source]
o Inclusion of passive range of motion activities
- Progression to active-assist, active, and with resistance range of motion activities
o Walking program
- Treadmill training, over-ground training
o Strengthening: core and extremities
Alternative/Holistic Management (current best evidence)[edit | edit source]
add text here
Differential Diagnosis[edit | edit source]
add text here
Case Reports/ Case Studies[edit | edit source]
add links to case studies here (case studies should be added on new pages using the case study template)
Resources
[edit | edit source]
add appropriate resources here
Recent Related Research (from Pubmed)[edit | edit source]
see tutorial on Adding PubMed Feed
Failed to load RSS feed from http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/erss.cgi?rss_guid=1NGmwZeh8JwVIzrKgHG1LrDm0izTr7ViJiDkSYAY2BW5hiXsx0|charset=UTF-8|short|max=10: Error parsing XML for RSS
References[edit | edit source]
see adding references tutorial.