Patient/caregiver was educated on the side-effects of using Dantrium as follows:
Central nervous system side-effects
- Dantrium use can result in episodes of confusion, dizziness, and light-headedness. This risk with dantrium can be even high when it is taken along with any other products and medications causing central nervous depression, such as, alcohol, opioid pain medications, antidepressants, antianxiety medications, and sedatives. Watching closely for therapeutic response to report any poorly tolerated confusion and dizziness can help prevent any falls and accidents.
- Dantrium use, especially in individuals with history of mood disorders, can occasionally result in exacerbation of depressive symptoms, insomnia, and nervousness.
- Dantrium use, especially in individuals with seizure history, can occasionally result in deterioration of seizure control and episodes of seizures.
Cardiovascular side-effects
- Dantrium use can result in fast and pounding heartbeat. Individuals with history of cardiac arrhythmias can be at increased risk for precipitation of arrhythmic episodes with dantrium use.
- Individuals taking dantrium must be increasingly watchful to report worsening symptoms of arrhythmias, such as, chest pain, low blood pressure, confusion, dizziness, increasing shortness of breath, and worsening fatigue.
- Hypotension and confusion, secondary to dantrium intake, can contribute to significantly increased risk for fall and accidents.
- Pericardium is a membrane surrounding the heart. Chronic use of dantrium can induce inflammation of the pericardium (pericarditis), resulting in swelling of the pericardium, fluid accumulation around the heart, palpitations of heart, and episodes of chest pain. In severe cases of pericarditis, the fluid accumulation around the heart can prevent the heart from filling with blood to capacity when the heart relaxes. Low filling volume inside the heart during relaxation of heart results in less volume of blood pumped out of the heart when the heart contracts. This contributes to less blood supply to vital organs, such as, brain, liver, and lungs, eventually compromising their function too. Compromised vital organ function can lead to episodes of low blood pressure, confusion, dizziness, severe shortness of breath, fatigue, and weakness.
