MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Beta blockers overdose

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Beta blockers overdose

Contents of this page:
Definition Poisonous Ingredient Where Found Symptoms Home Care	Before Calling Emergency Poison Control What to Expect at the Emergency Room Outlook (Prognosis)

Definition

This is poisoning from taking a large amount of beta blockers, a type of drug used to treat high blood pressure.

Poisonous Ingredient

Acebutolol
Atenolol
Betaxolol
Bisoprolol
Carteolol
Esmolol
Labetalol
Metoprolol
Nadolol
Penbutolol
Pindolol
Propranolol
Sotalol
Timolol

Note: This list may not be all inclusive.

Where Found

Acebutolol (Sectral)
Atenolol (Apo-atenolol)
Betaxolol (Kerlone)
Bisoprolol (Zebta)
Carteolol (Cartrol)
Esmolol (Brevibloc)
Labetalol (Normodyne)
Metoprolol (Toprol-XL)
Nadolol (Corgard)
Sotalol (Betapace)
Oxprenolol (Trasicor)
Penbutolol (Levatol)
Pindolol (Novo-pindol)
Propranolol (Inderal)
Timolol (Apo-timol)

Note: This list may not be all inclusive.

Symptoms

Lungs
- Breathing trouble
- W heezing (in people who have asthma)
- Breathing stops
Eyes, ears, nose, and throat
- Blurred vision
- Double vision
Heart and blood
- Irregular heartbeat
- Lw blood pressure
- Heartbeat - rapid or slow
- Shock
- Heart failure
- Lightheadedness
Nervous system
- Confusion
- Drowsiness
- Fatigue
- Coma
- Convulsions
- Nervousness
- Weakness
Whole body
- Excessive sweating
- Swelling

Home Care

Do not make the person throw up unless told to do so by Poison Control or a doctor.

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

Patient's age, weight, and condition
Name of product (as well as the ingredients and strength, if known)
Time it was swallowed
Amount swallowed

Poison Control

The National Poison Control Center (1-800-222-1222) can be called from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.

This is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the U.S. use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Take the container with you to the hospital, if possible.

See National Poison Control center.

What to Expect at the Emergency Room

The health care provider will measure and monitor the patient's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure.

The patient may receive:

EKG
Medicines to treat symptoms
Activated charcoal
Methods to make the person throw up
A nasogastric (NG) tube thru the nose into the stomach to empty the stomach (gastric lavage)
Medicines to keep blood pressure within normal limits
Methods to correct abnormal heart beats

Outlook (Prognosis)

Most patients are admitted to the hospital. Death may follow low blood pressure or heart arrhythmias.

Update Date: 4/4/2006

Updated by: Janeen R. Azare, PhD, MSPH, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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