Recovery from a psychotropic drug overdose tends to depend on the time from ingestion to arrival, the Glasgow Coma Scale, and a sign of circulatory insufficiency on arrival.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate which factors on arrival correlate with the duration of unconsciousness induced by a psychotropic drug overdose.


METHODS
Patients were 175 consecutive intubated patients unconscious due to psychotropic drug overdose. They were divided into 2 groups, an "early" group in which the patients were extubated within 2 days from hospitalization, and a "delayed" group who were not extubated within 2 days.


RESULTS
Glasgow Coma Scale (P = .001) scores in the early group were higher than those in the delayed group. The estimated time from ingestion to admission (P < .0001), creatine kinase level (P < .01), number of cases demonstrating shock (P < .05), shock index (P < .0001), and heart rate (P = .001) in the early group were smaller than those in the delayed group. Two subjects in the delayed group died of pneumonia and pulmonary embolism.


CONCLUSIONS
Delayed arrival from ingestion, a low level of unconsciousness, and a sign of circulatory insufficiency in a patient with a psychotropic drug overdose were risk factors of a delayed recovery and death.
Yanagawa
Youichi
Y
Department of Traumatology and Critical Care Medicine, National Defense Medical College, 359-8513, Japan. yanagawa@ndmc.ac.jp
Sakamoto
Toshihisa
T
Okada
Yoshiaki
Y
D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D062787:Drug Overdose; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal; D008297:Male; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000506:poisoning*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012769:Shock / Q000139:chemically induced; D013997:Time Factors; D014474:Unconsciousness / Q000139:chemically induced*
D011619:Psychotropic Drugs