Patients that Overdose Working in an emergency room introduces you to a variety of patients and conditions. It is often assumed that when a patient comes in that has overdosed, they are a drug user, but that is not always the case. Accidental Overdose Everyone has the capability of making a medication error. Whether administering medications, or taking them yourself, mistakes can occur. -
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A 79-year-old woman was getting her medication out, when she decided to get her husband’s medications at the same time. By the time she got all the pills removed from the bottles, she mixed them up, giving her husband his pills, plus an added dose of the same medication from her own bottle. She realized her mistake prior to taking the pills herself, so luckily, she was not affected. She drove her very sleepy husband to the hospital, and he was admitted into the emergency room. The drug that was administered twice was a blood pressure medication, so his blood pressure dropped dangerously low. He was admitted overnight so that medications could bring his numbers back into a normal range, however he was fine afterwards. The nurse suggested the social worker speak with the couple regarding help with medications. A simple fix of medication dispensers that were designed to hold 1 dose per container. They both agreed that would be a great solution, and everything ended up fine. A 16-year-old female was brought in by ambulance, unresponsive. She had attended a party, and overdosed on a form of heroin. Paramedics tried to get a response, but were unable to. Doctors worked on the girl for over an hour until her parents arrived. Unfortunately, she did not make it, which always makes for such a sad time for the remainder of the shift. An emergency room regular was admitted after mixing alcohol with several Xanax. This gentleman is 59 years old, lives in his car, and looks worse than most 90-yearold’s. He has lived a very sad few years after losing his family in an accident. It took some work; however, he was once again brought back from the brink of death, and walked out on his own 2 days later. A 19-year-old was admitted from a drug overdose with a mixture of drugs. She attended a party at her college, and the party was what was considered a Pharm Party. This entails everyone to bring some type of narcotic or stimulant pills, and then the pills are mixed