Pharmaceutical Approach for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Malignant Syndrome: A Case Study.

Since 2012, Matsudo City Hospital has increased the number of pharmacists stationed in the ward on weekday mornings at the emergency care center, the intensive care unit (ICU) and the high care unit (HCU). Multidisciplinary joint meetings and joint conferences are conducted in the emergency care center, and patient and drug information is shared. A 20-year-old man was transferred to our hospital after a traffic accident. He was diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage and brain contusion. He exhibited violent movement and intense restlessness. He was sedated with a continuous intravenous infusion of 5 mg/h midazolam and 20 μg/h fentanyl, with intubation. Propofol was also used intermittently. The midazolam infusion was concluded on day 5 of hospitalization. However, his restlessness recurred so an intravenous drip infusion of 150 mg/h haloperidol was administered. On the 7th day, he developed a high-grade fever, muscle rigidity, perspiration, and leukocytosis, and malignant syndrome or malignant hyperthermia was suspected. For malignant syndrome treatment, he received an intravenous drip infusion of 60 mg dantrolene, followed by the combined oral administration of 100 mg/d dantrolene and 7.5 mg/d bromocriptine. Considering various pharmacological effects, we selected an intravenous drip infusion of 25 mg hydroxyzine hydrochloride as the drug to alleviate restlessness. The patient's course continued without recurrence of malignant syndrome; his symptoms improved because of pharmaceutical care with an awareness of patient benefits through clinical and laboratory findings, consultation with the attending physician, presentation of information on causative and therapeutic drugs, and coordinated planning of a prescription design.