Death After Withdrawal of Meprobamate

Abstract

THE PURPOSE of this paper is to report a patient who became addicted to high doses of meprobamate and, upon withdrawal of the medication, developed anxiety, hyperhidrosis, tremors, hyperpyrexia, and grand mal seizures, and died. A review of the literature and correspondence with two manufacturers have failed to reveal any reported deaths after withdrawal in humans addicted to meprobamate. Report of Cases Case 1.— A 38-year-old salesman was hospitalized on Sept 28, 1961, with complaints of nervousness, sweating, and mild tremors of the upper extremities having been present for several hours. The patient admitted at that time to having taken excessive amounts of meprobamate, but was vague as to the amounts ingested and the duration of his addiction. Later it was learned that the patient had been first placed on a regimen of 400 mg of meprobamate four times a day in 1956 for nervousness. Just when the patient increased