A 52-year-old man is admitted to hospital after a fall at home and is managed with analgesia and bed rest. Thirty-six hours after admission he becomes restless and asks repeatedly when he can leave. He is sweating, his outstretched hands shake, and he says he feels 'jumpy inside'; his pulse is 112/min, blood pressure 158/94 mmHg and temperature 37.4°C, and he is fully orientated. His wife mentions that he drinks a bottle of wine and several beers each evening, and he has already received intravenous thiamine. Which one of the following is the most appropriate initial pharmacological treatment?
Keep going — a set of ten like this one, one at a time.
Practise moreMore from Psychiatry and Mental Health
See allA 42-year-old farmer attends because his wife insisted. She left him four months ago and he has been drinking a bottle of wine most nights. He has lost 6 kg, wa…
Pre-internship · common
A 45-year-old woman with bipolar I disorder, stable on lithium carbonate 1,000 mg nightly for six years with levels consistently 0.7–0.8 mmol/L, presents with t…
Pre-internship · middle twist
A 72-year-old man with Parkinson disease is brought by his wife because he has begun speaking to people who are not present and has become suspicious of her. He…
Clinical rotations · middle twist
A 67-year-old man has become withdrawn and stopped eating over six weeks. He says his organs have rotted and that his family will be financially ruined because…
Clinical rotations · common
A 30-year-old woman is brought by her partner 10 days after giving birth. For four nights she has slept for less than two hours, says the infant has been exchan…
Clinical rotations · common