‘Massive alarm bells’: Most propranolol overdoses involve intentional self-harm, data show
Propranolol, a beta blocker, is sometimes prescribed for management of social anxiety.
More than half of propranolol-related calls to Australia’s largest poisons centre last year related to intentional overdoses, raising concerns about prescribing to at-risk patients.
AusDoc previously reported that propranolol-related calls to the NSW Poisons Information Centre had risen by 18% over the past two years.
Now, the centre’s medical director says the proportion of intentional overdoses “rings massive alarm bells”.
“Intentional overdoses, in this context, relate to poisoning for the purpose of self-harm,” says Associate Professor Darren Roberts, a pharmacologist, addiction specialist and nephrologist.
