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You are called to see a 31 yr old woman on the ward who is 8 hours postop after a diagnostic laparoscopy to investigate her longterm chronic pelvic pain. The nurse treating her is concerned because she is still complaining of pain despite many analgesics, however she is more concerned by the patient’s increasingly erratic behaviour and agitation.

Her heart rate is 108/min, NIBP 155/95, she appears sweaty, temp = 38.9C, appears restless and has some noticeable tremor. When you examine her she has very brisk reflexes and three beats of clonus in her ankles.

Glancing at her med chart you see she is usually on desvenlafaxine 50mg/day, tramadol 100mg BD, and admits to using methamphetamine recreationally.

Join Graeme and I as we discuss a rational approach to this sort of scenario, share some real life anecdotes and trade a few more dodgy dad jokes.

• Differential diagnoses (don’t miss these)
• Deeper dive into SS syndrome, and NLMS

References

Tutorial of the Week 2010 Serotonergic Syndrome

Serotonin Syndrome in the Perioperative Period BJA Education 2020