Retrospective review of a case of serotonin syndrome after discontinuation of risperidone: Was withdrawal neuroleptic malignant syndrome missed?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION The job of the pharmacist rarely involves evaluating diagnostic impressions or making definitive diagnoses. However, the pharmacist may often be called upon to give his or her assessment of a clinical picture when drugrelated or drug-induced factors may be at play. In addition, pharmacists may be called upon to give therapy recommendations, frequently evaluating appropriate dosing, drug interactions and even therapeutic endpoints of medications. As patient and drug-regimen complexity increase, the ability of the pharmacist to give valuable input to the diagnostic impression or assessment of drugrelated factors regarding a patient’s clinical presentation becomes paramount. This may be particularly true in the context of mental health patients treated with more than one psychotropic agent.