Paradoxical Reaction to Alprazolam in an Elderly Woman with a History of Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and Hypothyroidism
With less than 1% of patients who use benzodiazepines being affected, paradoxical responses to benzodiazepines are rare. In this case report, we outline the course of an 80-year-old female who developed a paradoxical response to benzodiazepines. Significant medical and psychiatric history includes a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2016-01-01
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| Series: | Case Reports in Psychiatry |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6748947 |
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| author | Daniel Kirkpatrick Tyler Smith Mitchell Kerfeld Taylor Ramsdell Hasnain Sadiq Arun Sharma |
| author_facet | Daniel Kirkpatrick Tyler Smith Mitchell Kerfeld Taylor Ramsdell Hasnain Sadiq Arun Sharma |
| author_sort | Daniel Kirkpatrick |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With less than 1% of patients who use benzodiazepines being affected, paradoxical responses to benzodiazepines are rare. In this case report, we outline the course of an 80-year-old female who developed a paradoxical response to benzodiazepines. Significant medical and psychiatric history includes anxiety, mood disorder, hypothyroidism, bilateral mastectomy, goiter removal, and triple bypass. The patient presented with mental status changes, anxiety, motor restlessness, and paranoia. Over time, a temporal relationship between the severity of the patient’s motor agitation and intake of alprazolam was observed. As doses of alprazolam were decreased, her motor agitation became less severe. In addition to motor agitation, the patient also demonstrated increased aggressiveness, a subjective feeling of restlessness, and increased talkativeness. As her dose of alprazolam decreased, many of the patient’s symptoms were observed to decrease. This case report also discusses theories regarding the pathophysiology of paradoxical reactions to benzodiazepines, known risk factors, and appropriate treatment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-706f925601194d5f82d0322bd49da6fa |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-682X 2090-6838 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Reports in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-706f925601194d5f82d0322bd49da6fa2025-02-03T06:10:49ZengWileyCase Reports in Psychiatry2090-682X2090-68382016-01-01201610.1155/2016/67489476748947Paradoxical Reaction to Alprazolam in an Elderly Woman with a History of Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and HypothyroidismDaniel Kirkpatrick0Tyler Smith1Mitchell Kerfeld2Taylor Ramsdell3Hasnain Sadiq4Arun Sharma5Department of Psychiatry, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178, USACreighton University School of Pharmacy & Health Professions, Omaha, NE 68178, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE 68178, USAWith less than 1% of patients who use benzodiazepines being affected, paradoxical responses to benzodiazepines are rare. In this case report, we outline the course of an 80-year-old female who developed a paradoxical response to benzodiazepines. Significant medical and psychiatric history includes anxiety, mood disorder, hypothyroidism, bilateral mastectomy, goiter removal, and triple bypass. The patient presented with mental status changes, anxiety, motor restlessness, and paranoia. Over time, a temporal relationship between the severity of the patient’s motor agitation and intake of alprazolam was observed. As doses of alprazolam were decreased, her motor agitation became less severe. In addition to motor agitation, the patient also demonstrated increased aggressiveness, a subjective feeling of restlessness, and increased talkativeness. As her dose of alprazolam decreased, many of the patient’s symptoms were observed to decrease. This case report also discusses theories regarding the pathophysiology of paradoxical reactions to benzodiazepines, known risk factors, and appropriate treatment.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6748947 |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Kirkpatrick Tyler Smith Mitchell Kerfeld Taylor Ramsdell Hasnain Sadiq Arun Sharma Paradoxical Reaction to Alprazolam in an Elderly Woman with a History of Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and Hypothyroidism Case Reports in Psychiatry |
| title | Paradoxical Reaction to Alprazolam in an Elderly Woman with a History of Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and Hypothyroidism |
| title_full | Paradoxical Reaction to Alprazolam in an Elderly Woman with a History of Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and Hypothyroidism |
| title_fullStr | Paradoxical Reaction to Alprazolam in an Elderly Woman with a History of Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and Hypothyroidism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Paradoxical Reaction to Alprazolam in an Elderly Woman with a History of Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and Hypothyroidism |
| title_short | Paradoxical Reaction to Alprazolam in an Elderly Woman with a History of Anxiety, Mood Disorders, and Hypothyroidism |
| title_sort | paradoxical reaction to alprazolam in an elderly woman with a history of anxiety mood disorders and hypothyroidism |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6748947 |
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