AI Article Synopsis
- A 72-year-old woman needed a total knee replacement but developed low sodium levels due to an Addisonian crisis after surgery, requiring intensive care.
- Upon review, it was discovered she had been using a strong topical steroid cream, clobetasol, for the past two years, which she hadn’t mentioned.
- The authors emphasize the critical need for healthcare providers to specifically inquire about patients' use of topical steroids, as stopping them suddenly before surgery can lead to severe complications.
Article Abstract
A 72-year-old woman was admitted for a routine elective total knee replacement. By day 1 postoperative, she became hyponatraemic following an Addisonian crisis, leading to an admission into the intensive therapy unit (ITU). It was later during this stay in the ITU and on a retrospective drug history review that she was found to have taken clobetasol, a high strength topical steroid cream over the past 2 years. The authors alert the reader to the importance of specially asking patients about their use of current or recent topical steroid creams as they may not always volunteer this information. Sudden withdrawal of steroid supplementation in these patients in the preoperative period may result in catastrophic consequences.
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Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3962861 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2013-202667 | DOI Listing |
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