The mental deterioration of a 33-year-old man with HIV began with vivid dreams just weeks after he began a standard course of HIV treatment. The treatment was a combination of the medications efavirenz, tenofovir and emtricitabine (Atripla). This course seemed successful, with the man’s HIV viral load decreasing to non-detectable levels within a few weeks. HIV treatment continued. Then the … Read More
Case Report: Boy becomes comatose after painkiller treatment
One day after a 5½-year-old boy was released from the hospital for a routine tonsillectomy, he was comatose in the ER. The boy had undergone surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids to treat obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, a potentially serious sleep disorder that causes pauses in breathing and a blocked airway. The surgery was successful, and he was sent … Read More
Case Report: Muscle weakness in both father and son after statin therapy suggests genetic link
A 48-year man came to his cardiologist for an unscheduled visit complaining of worsening muscle pain and weakness in his arms and legs. He was finding it hard to exercise and even climb stairs. Two weeks before, the man had been fitted with a stent in his right coronary artery after he showed signs of coronary artery disease and put … Read More
Case Report: Misdiagnosis of Adverse Effect Leads to Prescribing Cascade
A 70-year-old man fell, resulting in subdural hemorrhage and frontal lobe contusions (bleeding in his brain). He was admitted to the ICU, where lab results showed two interesting facts: he had unusually high levels of salicylate in his blood and X-ray imaging showed opaque material in his colon. He was self-administering donepezil, calcium carbonate, alendronate, pravastatin, ezetimibe, omeprazole and perindopril. … Read More