Self-Medication of Corticosteroids: A Life Threatening Case Report from Pakistan
Hashmi Furqan Khurshid1,2★, Saleem Zikria1, Saeed Hamid1, Verma Ashutosh Kumar2★ Corresponding author
- 1University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Allama Iqbal Campus, Lahore-54000, PAKISTAN.
- 2Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang-11800, MALAYSIA.
CORRESPONDENCE
Hashmi Furqan Khurshid
University College of Pharmacy, University of the Punjab, Allama Iqbal Campus, Lahore-54000, PAKISTAN .
Received: 30-01-2016; Revised: 18-02-2016; Accepted: 21-03-2016.
Volume 2, Issue 3 · pp. 96–99 · PUBLISHED · DOI: 10.5530/jppcm.2016.3.7
ABSTRACT
A 70 years-old male patient with poor socioeconomic status seeks medical treatment from a quack for a minor injury. The Quack assured him to improve his health while offering him a miracle medicine that went wrong. A registered medical practitioner made a working diagnosis of the mismanaged early stage cellulitis and patient was shifted to a specialized hospital with subsequent deterioration of his health due to septicemia leading to unconsciousness. Pertinent medical history determined patient’s self-medication habits for the last 10 years including Prednisolone and Tetracycline for upper respiratory tract disorders–identified as per medicine color and shape. A number of potent antibiotics were tried but in vain. Finally the patient was diagnosed with corticosteroid induced adrenal suppression which shifted a minor injury into life threatening condition. In ICU, physician added injection Dexamethasone which regains patient’s consciousness within 3–4 hrs. It is concluded that in a country like Pakistan where provision of prescription medicines are similar to over the counter medicines, self-medication driven disease mismanagement coupled with treatment and procedural qualms for uneducated patients, mightsteer a minor health event to a life-threatening incident.
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Khurshid, H. F., Zikria, S., Hamid, S., & Kumar, V. A. (). Self-Medication of Corticosteroids: A Life Threatening Case Report from Pakistan. Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Community Medicine, 2(3), 96–99. https://doi.org/10.5530/jppcm.2016.3.7