2018
Overview
Serotonin syndrome is a potentially serious condition caused by excessive serotonergic activity in the nervous system, most often resulting from medications that increase serotonin levels or their combination. It is commonly linked to antidepressants, certain pain medications, some migraine treatments, and other agents that affect serotonin, particularly when several such drugs are taken together or doses are increased. The condition is typically characterized by a triad of features: altered mental status such as agitation or confusion, autonomic instability such as rapid heart rate, elevated blood pressure, sweating, and fever, and neuromuscular abnormalities such as tremor, muscle twitching, rigidity, and exaggerated reflexes. Symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening and usually begin within hours of starting or changing a serotonergic medication. Diagnosis is clinical, based on the pattern of features and a history of relevant drug exposure, since no single test confirms it. Management centres on stopping the offending agents, providing supportive care, controlling agitation and temperature, and, in severe cases, using specific serotonin-blocking treatment. Awareness of serotonin syndrome is important in headache and migraine care, where multiple serotonergic medications may be considered. This page gathers peer-reviewed, open-access research relevant to serotonin syndrome and safe medication use within the journal's scope.
Research published in this journal
1 peer-reviewed article, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.