Drug related causes of hypotension in presentation groups*
| Drugs | H-CA | H-tachy | H-brady | H-normal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-CA, cardiac arrest associated with hypotension; H-tachy, tachycardia in association with hypotension; H-brady, bradycardia in association with hypotension; H-normal, hypotension in association with a normal heart rate. | ||||
| *Combinations of drugs were used in some cases. | ||||
| †Three cases involved suxamethonium hyperkalaemia. | ||||
| ‡GTN, glyceryltrinitrate. | ||||
| ¶Vancomycin (n = 3), β-blockers (n = 1), α-blockers (n = 1), digoxin (n = 1), hydrallazine (n = 1), phenytoin (n = 1), methylprednisone (n = 1). | ||||
| §Thrombostat (n = 1), suxamethonium (n = 2), neostigmine (n = 2), metaraminol (n = 1), morphine (n = 1), fentanyl (n = 1). | ||||
| IV anaesthetic agents | 9 | 1 | 6 | 20 |
| Opioids | 4 | 0 | 9 | 12 |
| Benzodiazepines | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Inhalational agents | 8 | 0 | 23 | 6 |
| Vaporiser incident | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Suxamethonium† | 8 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Muscle relaxants | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Anticholinesterase | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Local anaesthetic | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Protamine | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sodium nitroprusside, GTN‡ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Vasopressors | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Adrenaline/cocaine | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Inotropes | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Salbutamol | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Clonidine withdrawal | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sudafed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Atropine | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Miscellaneous¶ | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Drug syringe or ampoule error§ | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Total in each column | 46 | 11 | 53 | 80 |