A 12-year-old boy has been treated with methyphenidate for the last three year. His younger sister finds the bottle of pills and consumes enough to cause significant toxicity. Which of the following findings would you expect?
High-Yield Explanation
Methyphenidate, which is widely is widely used to manage ADD-ADHD, has amphetamine-like sympathetic and CNS-stimulating effects.Peripheral sympathetic (adrenergic) effects arise from the drugs ability to release neuronal norepinephrine. Related findings would include increased vasoconstriction and therefore increase blood pressure, and tachycardia. At toxic doses, the CNS effect of the drug probably would lead to seizures.