What percentage of patients develop symptoms of serotonin toxicity within 1 and 6 hours of a precipitating event?
In a review of 41 case reports of serotonin toxicity, 30% of patients developed symptoms of serotonin toxicity within 1 hour and 60% developed symptoms within 6 hours of a precipitating event.
Mason PJ, Morris VA, Balcezak TJ. Serotonin syndrome. Presentation of 2 cases and review of the literature. Medicine (Baltimore). 2000 Jul;79(4):201-9. doi: 10.1097/00005792-200007000-00001. PMID: 10941349.
Chiew AL, Buckley NA. The serotonin toxidrome: shortfalls of current diagnostic criteria for related syndromes. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2022 Feb;60(2):143-158. doi: 10.1080/15563650.2021.1993242. Epub 2021 Nov 22. PMID: 34806513.
Contributed by: Natasha Tobarran, DO