MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Dilantin overdose

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Dilantin 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 article discusses poisoning from an overdose of Dilantin, a medicine used to prevent seizures.

Poisonous Ingredient

Phenytoin

Where Found

Dilantin
Phenytoin

Symptoms

The symptoms vary, but may include:

Coma
Confusion
Fever
Involuntary and jerky repeated movement of the eyeballs
Lethargy
Nausea
Swollen gums
Sleepiness
Slow or slurred speech
Staggering gait or walk
Tremor
Unsteadiness
Vomiting

Home Care

Seek immediate medical help. DO NOT make a person throw up unless told to do so by Poison Control or a health care professional.

Before Calling Emergency

Determine the following information:

Patient's age, weight, and condition
Name of the product (ingredients and strengths, if known)
Time it was swallowed
Amount swallowed
If the medicine was prescribed by a doctor

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:

Medicines to treat symptoms
Activated charcoal
A nasogastric (NG) tube thru the nose into the stomach to empty the stomach (gastric lavage)
Oxygen
Breathing tube

Outlook (Prognosis)

The outlook depends on the severity of the overdose:

Mild overdose: Supportive therapy alone may be all that is needed. Recovery is likely.
Moderate overdose: With proper treatment, the patient usually makes a complete recovery within 24 to 48 hours.
Severe overdose: If the patient is unconscious or vital signs are abnormal, more aggressive treatments may be necessary. It may take 3 to 5 days before the patient wakes up (becomes conscious). However, unless there are complications, long-term effects and deaths are uncommon.

Update Date: 10/31/2006

Updated by: Eric Perez, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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