Serotonin syndrome

Serotonin syndrome is a potentially serious, sometimes life-threatening condition caused by excessive serotonergic activity in the central nervous system. It most often arises when two or more serotonergic medicines are combined, or when one is taken in overdose.

It is characterized by a triad of neuromuscular abnormality (tremor, clonus, hyperreflexia, rigidity), autonomic instability (tachycardia, hypertension, hyperthermia, diaphoresis), and altered mental status (agitation, confusion); severity ranges from mild to fatal. Medicine classes commonly implicated include the SSRIs, SNRIs, and MAOIs, along with tramadol and dextromethorphan; this risk is the basis of many of the interaction cautions noted across this wiki.

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