Mr. Smith had a significant and lengthy medical history that included Hepatitis C, Cirrhosis, ITP, Diabetes, vertigo, peptic ulcer disease, depression, IV Drug abuse (heroin and cocaine), and prescription narcotic addiction. Mr. Smith’s history of liver disease was long-standing and had progressed over a period of two decades until he was finally at the point of end-stage liver failure. He was on several medications that are metabolized through the liver, and was started on Wellbutrin the morning of his arrest.
Mr. Smith was arrested by police due to “objective signs of intoxication” which were documented as watery droopy eyes, lethargic demeanor and slow speech. It was also noted in the police report that Mr. Smith had nystagmus present on the HGN test. It was determined that he did not have any alcohol in his system, but he was positive for opiates and methadone. As of September 1st, 2010, Mr. Smith had a current prescription for Diazepam, Griseofulvin, HCTZ, methadone, Wellbutrin and Zolpidem.
This month we are discussing DUI and Liver Failure by way of a case study. The blog topics for this month are:
- Case Summary (4/1/16)
- What does the liver do? (4/8/16)
- Liver disease and medications (4/15/16)
- Educating about medications (4/22/16)
Note: To see all posts in this topic, click here
