Methyldopa Reaction Simulating Septic Shock

Though drug fever from methyldopa is well known, to my knowledge fever and hypotension simulating septic shock have never been described in this country as a syndrome resulting from methyldopa therapy. Three such cases are presented here, all proved on rechallenge. They erroneously accounted for almost 6% of all cases of septic shock at St Elizabeth Medical Center in the last ten years. (Arch Intern Med139:196-197, 1979)