My article dealt with the use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). SSRIs were introduced in the 1980s and had become one of the most abundantly prescribed drugs. Between the years of 1991 and 2000, prescriptions for SSRIs saw an increase of 740%. SSRIs are used to treat a wide variety of psychiatric disorders, such as depression, anxiety, phobias, eating disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Even though SSRIs are commonly prescribed drugs, there is a potential adverse effect that can occur from the use of the drugs called serotonin syndrome (Jiwanla & Weitzel 43). One case of this syndrome involved a 68-year-old woman who had been on SSRIs for anxiety and depression. This patient still complained of anxiety problems after being on the medication, so she was then prescribed the SSRI trazodone HCl. Within two days, the patient developed confusion and muscle spasms and suffered a fall. She was taken to the hospital and treated for serotonin syndrome. There are many different symptoms that occur with serotonin syndrome. Patients suffer from altered mental statuses such as agitation, coma, confusion, delirium, hallucinations, mania, and mutism. Other symptoms include autonomic dysfunction such as blood pressure fluctuation, diaphoresis, diarrhea, hyperthermia, and mydriasis. Patients may also suffer from neuromuscular symptoms such as akathisia, clonus, dyskinesia, seizures, and tremors (Jiwanla & Weitzel 44).
             One of the SSRIs that were talked about in this article was trazodone hydrochloride or trazodone HCl. The empirical formula for trazodone HCl is C19H22CIN5O·HCl. "It is a triazolopyridine derivative designated as 2-(3-(4-(3-chlorophenyl)-1-piperazinyl) propyl-1,2,4-triazole(4,3-a)pyridine n-3 (2H)-one hydrochloride. Trazodone HCl is a white, odorless crystalline powder, which is freely soluble in water. Its molecular weight is 408.3" (Premier-Net)
             I found this article in one of my mom's nursing magazine....