Purpose: Propranolol is widely prescribed to psychiatric patients to control adrenergic symptoms. However, propranolol poisoning can be fatal due to cardiovascular complications. We analyzed associations between blood levels of propranolol and patients’ clinical features, with the aim of predicting progression to severe complications.
Methods Data were collected from patients aged 18 years or older who presented to the emergency department with propranolol poisoning between January 2016 and May 2022. We retrospectively analyzed their medical records and compared blood levels of propranolol between those who had cardiovascular complications and those who did not.
Results Two hundred patients were included in this study. The blood levels of propranolol were significantly higher in patients with hypotension, bradycardia, and prolonged QT intervals, with median values of 247.0 ng/mL (interquartile range [IQR], 56.5–333.8 ng/mL), 275.8 ng/mL (IQR, 154.3–486.4 ng/mL), and 159.0 ng/mL (IQR, 33.9–310.8 ng/mL), respectively. In the predictive analysis of cardiovascular complications using a receiver operating characteristic curve, the area under the curve was 0.729 with a cut-off value of 72.40 ng/mL (sensitivity, 0.667; specificity, 0.819). In addition, the correlation coefficient between blood levels and the amount of drug described during the history-taking at the time of presentation was 0.634, which was found to have a significantly higher relationship.
Conclusion Because blood levels of propranolol can be used as predictors of exacerbation in patients with propranolol poisoning, patients with blood levels above 72.40 ng/dL require careful treatment and observation from their initial presentation at the emergency department.
Purpose: Beta blocker (BB) has been prescribed for anxiety and panic disorder. Patients intoxicated by psychiatric drugs have often been exposed to BB. Moreover, BB overdose has adverse effects including cardiovascular effects, which can be life-threatening. This study was conducted to identify the characteristics of BB intoxication with psychiatric drugs and the adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. Methods: A single center, retrospective study was performed from January 2010 to December 2015. A total of 4,192 patients visited the emergency department (ED) with intoxication, and 69 with BB intoxication were enrolled. Results: Overall, 64 patients (92.8%) of enrolled patients were intoxicated with drugs prescribed for the purpose of psychiatric disorders. Propranolol was the most common BB (62 cases, 96.2%), and the median dose was 140.0 mg (25%-75% 80.0-260.0). Twenty-four patients (37.5%) had experienced cardiovascular events, and these patients tended to have decreased mentality, hypotension and coingestion with quetiapine. An initial mean arterial pressure (MAP) below 65 mmHg (odds ratio 10.069, 95% confidence interval 1.572-64.481, p=0.015) was identified as a factor of cardiovascular event upon multiple logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: Initial MAP below 65 mmHg was a factor of cardiovascular adverse effect in patients of BB intoxication with psychiatric drugs.
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Poisoning patients’ clinical features according to the blood level of propranolol Sungheon Kim, Byung Hak So, Hyung Min Kim, Kyeong Man Cha, Hwan Song, Won Jung Jeong Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology.2023; 21(1): 56. CrossRef