Pharmacology 7th Edition by Henry Hitner,Barbara Nagle

Exercise 24

As patient liaison in a large metropolitan hospital, one of your duties is to educate patients and their families about their illnesses and treatments. For the following cases, explain why the patients present with the signs and symptoms that they do.a. Patient A, a 16-year-old female, took an overdose of one of the barbiturate drugs and was brought to the emergency room (ER) by her parents. She presents in the ER with a heart rate of 45, blood pressure of 85 over 55, and slow, irregular breathing.
b. Patient B took an accidental overdose of an amphetamine and presents at the ER in a state of excitability, with rapid breathing, heart palpitations, excessive perspiration, anxiety, and irritability.
c. Patient C is an 18-year-old male who has had a few beers once or twice a month since he turned 18. He has never consumed hard liquor until tonight, when he attended a party where he participated in a drinking contest. At that time, he drank several ounces of whiskey in a few minutes. He passed out and could not be awakened. A sober friend brought him to the ER, still unconscious. His heart rate is slow, his blood pressure down, and his breathing is irregular.