On the day prior to his arrest, Mr. Smith went to see a psychiatrist and was placed on Wellbutrin. The doctor claimed to have considered the interactions of his medications and the hepatotoxic potential, yet prescribed the full 100mg dose instead of the recommended 75mg hepatic adjusted dose. She also failed to document the details of her conversation regarding consent. There is no evidence that she described the potential hazard of driving when first taking the medication or that she discussed the potential of the side effects being strong and rapid due to his liver failure. In fact, her notes indicate that she told Mr. Smith that the side effects would likely be mild; giving him a false sense of security in taking the new medication.
With his status of end-stage liver failure at the time of the arrest and the amount of medications that have CNS side effects, there is absolutely no way that anyone could predict the reaction by his body to yet one more medication that has significant side effects and is metabolized through the liver. The speed of onset of symptoms is likewise unpredictable.
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
