Question

Difficulty: MediumPsychiatric Emergencies and Legal/Ethical Issues

Match each clinical presentation of a psychiatric or substance-related emergency to the most appropriate specific pharmacological treatment or reversal agent.

  • A 24-year-old man develops severe 'lead-pipe' muscle rigidity, a temperature of 103.5°F (39.7°C), and diaphoresis two days after his haloperidol dose was increased.Bromocriptine
  • A 32-year-old woman presents with myoclonus, hyperreflexia, agitation, and shivering shortly after starting sumatriptan for migraines while maintained on fluoxetine.Cyproheptadine
  • A 19-year-old man experiences a sudden, sustained upward deviation of the eyes and painful neck twisting hours after receiving a dose of fluphenazine.Benztropine
  • A 28-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department unresponsive, with dry mucous membranes and a widened QRS complex on electrocardiogram after ingesting a bottle of pills.Sodium bicarbonate
  • A 45-year-old man with a history of alcohol use disorder presents with confusion, visual hallucinations, tachycardia, and severe tremors 72 hours after his last drink.Lorazepam

Answer

The correct matches pair each psychiatric emergency with its definitive pharmacological treatment: Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome with Bromocriptine, Serotonin Syndrome with Cyproheptadine, Acute Dystonia with Benztropine, TCA toxicity with Sodium bicarbonate, and Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium with Lorazepam.
Each matching pair correctly identifies the reversal agent or definitive medical treatment for a distinct, life-threatening psychiatric or substance-related emergency based on its underlying receptor mechanism.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary clinical diagnosis for each patient presentation.
The diagnoses are NMS, Serotonin Syndrome, Acute Dystonia, TCA Toxicity, and Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium.
Recognizing the toxidrome or emergency state is the prerequisite to selecting the appropriate antidote.
2
Determine the underlying pathophysiology of each condition.
NMS is caused by dopamine blockade, Serotonin Syndrome by serotonin excess, Acute Dystonia by dopamine-acetylcholine imbalance, TCA toxicity by sodium channel blockade, and Alcohol Withdrawal by GABA down-regulation.
The pharmacological treatment targets the specific pathophysiological mechanism.
3
Select the appropriate reversing agent for each mechanism.
Bromocriptine overcomes dopamine blockade; Cyproheptadine blocks serotonin receptors; Benztropine restores anticholinergic balance; Sodium bicarbonate overcomes sodium channel blockade; Lorazepam enhances GABAergic activity.
Matching the mechanism to the drug ensures correct treatment selection.

Key Concept

Recognition of psychiatric emergencies and acute toxidromes, and their definitive pharmacological management.
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