Other emergencies
Case 4: A Patient Who Has Taken A Drug Overdose
CASE
A 23‐year‐old woman is brought into A&E drowsy and appears confused. She had been found at home by her boyfriend with an empty bottle of vodka and some empty packets of medicines. He had only been out of the house for 1 hour and once he'd found her he'd brought her straight to A&E. He says she was feeling low after the death of her grandmother. Her BP is 90/60 mmHg, respiratory rate 10 breaths/min. Oxygen saturations are 94% on air. Her pupils are very small and non‐reactive.
QUESTION 1
Your score this session: 0 of 0
What is the most likely cause of her pinpoint pupils?
The patient's boyfriend does not know what the medicine packets were and did not bring them with him. He thinks she may have found them among her grandmother's things. He knows her grandmother had been taking painkillers for arthritis and had ‘kidney problems’.