Abstract
Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic agent increasingly used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in pediatric patients. Few published data exist concerning quetiapine's effects in therapeutic settings or short-term overdose in pediatric and adolescent populations. In this report, we describe a 15-year-old adolescent girl who experienced continued delirium 5 days after an overdose of quetiapine, trazodone, and clonidine. The patient initially presented with sedation and stable vital signs. After 3 days of gradual improvement, she experienced episodes of delirium coinciding with an increase in resting heart rate. On the basis of suspicion for quetiapine-associated antimuscarinic effects, the patient was administered intravenously with physostigmine on the fifth day after ingestion. Treatment resulted in a brief resolution of symptoms. Serum quetiapine levels measured 1 day and 5 days after ingestion were 3400 and 4800 ng/mL, respectively. The use of physostigmine and interpretation of serum levels are discussed further.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 754-756 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Pediatric emergency care |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 1 2010 |
Keywords
- adolescent
- anticholingeric delirium
- overdose
- physostigmine
- poisoning
- quetiapine
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Emergency Medicine