Journal of Toxicology. Clinical Toxicology

INTRODUCTION: Dermal exposure to hydrofluoric acid (HF) may cause severe burns and systemic toxicity. Hexafluorine (Prevor, France) is a product marketed as an emergency decontamination fluid for HF skin and eye exposures. Documentation concerning Hexafluorine is scanty, and a recent study indicates that its ability to reduce HF burns is at most equal to that of water. OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to evaluate Hexafluorine's capacity to reduce HF-induced systemic toxicity...

BACKGROUND: Plasma cholinesterase (PChE) metabolizes cocaine to ecgonine methyl ester (EME). Limited data demonstrate that EME is a mild vasodilator. Exogenous PChE protects against cocaine-induced seizures and lethality. It is unclear whether this protective effect results from enhanced degradation of cocaine, the loss of active metabolites (benzoylecgonine, norcocaine), or the production of a beneficial metabolite (EME). This study was designed to further investigate the pharmacologic effects of EME...

BACKGROUND: Approximately 35% of patients acutely poisoned with organophosphates (OP) in developing countries like Sri Lanka require intensive care and mechanical ventilation. However, death rates remain high. OBJECTIVE: To study the outcomes and predictors of mortality in patients with acute OP poisoning requiring intensive therapy at a regional center in Sri Lanka over a period of 40 months. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all intensive care records of patients with acute OP poisoning admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) between March 1998 and July 2001...

BACKGROUND: The administration of intravenous (IV) calcium to treat hyperkalemia resulting from digoxin poisoning is considered potentially dangerous, based on a body of older literature which, in sum, reported increased cardiac glycoside toxicity with calcium administration (increased arrhythmias, higher rate of death). OBJECTIVE: This pilot study sought to determine if the administration of calcium chloride when compared to normal saline would affect time to death when given to hyperkalemic, digoxin toxic swine...

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No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The annual sale of x-ray contrast media (CM) now represents 60 million doses, and contrast nephropathy (CN) has been the third-leading cause of hospital-acquired acute renal failure. In this review article, physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic properties of CM are surveyed. The definition of CN is presented, as well as the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis. Low osmolar monomeric CM (LOCM) are less nephrotoxic than the older ionic high osmolar CM (HOCM), but in risk patients the incidence of CN is still high after intravascular administration of LOCM...

Traditionally, horse-serum-based antivenom has been used in the United States for North American crotaline snake evenomation. Crotalidae polyvalent immune Fab (ovine) was approved in 2000 for use in mild to moderate envenomations. The manufacture recommends use within 6 h of envenomation. Published postmarketing retrospective reports describe its use up to 9 h after envenomation. We describe a case of effective use of FabAV 52 h after envenomation with resultant correction of coagulopathy and mild improvement of local symptoms...

Glyphosate (N-[phosphonomethyl]glycine) is a nonselective herbicide used in agriculture as a foliage spray for the control and the destruction of herbaceous plants. Adverse skin reactions due to contact with this compound have been rarely described. We report a case of a 78-year-old woman presenting with extensive chemical burns on her trunk and legs caused by accidental contact with a glyphosate-surfactant formulation. The lesions healed in four weeks without scarring.

Volatile alkyl nitrites have been used during the past decades for "recreational purposes," and for intensifying sexual experience. Their use has been associated with methemoglobinemia and hemolysis. We report three patients who presented over the past year with acute hemolysis after inhalation of butyl nitrite, two of them had glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency.

BACKGROUND: Sumatriptan has been used in the treatment of migraine and other vascular headaches since 1993 in the United States. Its side effects include chest pains in 3% to 8% of patients who have known cardiac risk factors. This is a case report of a 45-year-old woman with no history of cardiac risk factors who had a myocardial infarction after her monthly dose of oral sumatriptan. METHODS: The patient was examined in the emergency room, evaluated by electrocardiography, and serial evaluations of cardiac enzymes over the next 24 h...

Fertilizers are used to promote the survival and growth of plants and crops and have a good safety record when used properly. The basic elements in fertilizer include phosphorus, nitrite, and potassium. In addition, there are additive agents that vary for different crops and which may include some metals. Acute intoxication by ingesting fertilizer includes damage to various organ systems as well as severe cardiovascular or respiratory distress. We report the case of a 64-year-old man who ingested about 700 mL of fertilizer and suffered acute renal failure, hyperkalemia, and mild methemoglobinemia...

INTRODUCTION: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) ingestion is an uncommon cause of poisoning worldwide. To date, no cases of renal impairment after oral intake of DDT in humans have been reported. We describe the clinical course and management of two patients presenting after DDT ingestion, one of whom developed acute oliguric renal failure. CASE REPORT: A father and son mistook DDT powder for flour while preparing fish for a meal, and after eating they developed symptoms compatible with acute organochlorine insecticide poisoning...

Patients taking multiple medications may suffer from unpredictable and complex drug-drug interactions resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. There are few reports in the literature of hypoglycemia with concurrent administration of an oral hyperglycemic agent and a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. We present a case of a diabetic patient taking glyburide who was prescribed ciprofloxacin and developed prolonged hypoglycemia, which persisted for over 24 hours. The mechanisms by which these agents interact to produce prolonged hypoglycemia are complex and probably multifactorial...

UNLABELLED: Lead exposure is a preventable environmental health concern. Young children between the ages of 1 to 6 are most susceptible to its clinical effects. This article reports the results of lead level determinations in the drinking water of Philadelphia's public school buildings and remediation efforts aimed at dealing with this public health concern. METHODS: Water samples were collected from drinking sources in 292 school buildings in Philadelphia from May 2000 through January 2001...

BACKGROUND: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have increasingly replaced tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) in the treatment of depression. They appear to be safer in overdose, but there is little information on their spectrum of toxicity in overdose, or relative toxicity of each agent. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of SSRIs in overdose, as a group, and the relative toxicity of five different SSRIs. METHODS: A review of consecutive SSRI poisoning admissions to a single toxicology unit...

BACKGROUND: While routine immunizations are very safe, their administration to healthy children requires minimization of immunization programmatic errors. In order to estimate the incidence and ascertain the nature of reported immunization errors in the Greek childhood population, we have undertaken a study using data from the National Poison Information Center in Greece, which also has the responsibility to address medication-induced errors. METHODS: All immunization errors concerning children and reported to the National Poison Information Center during the 2-yr period 1999-2000 were retrieved and the conditions of their occurrence were examined...

BACKGROUND: Although it is a commonly held belief that the ingestion of drugs with an anticholinergic action would prolong the duration of time after drug ingestion for effective gastrointestinal decontamination, data are lacking to support this belief. The purpose of this study is to determine whether activated charcoal is more effective in the presence of concurrent anticholinergic activity. METHODS: A three-limbed randomized crossover study in 10 healthy volunteers was completed to determine the ability of a 50 g dose of activated charcoal to reduce the bioavailability of a simulated overdose of acetaminophen (12 x 325 mg tablets) in the presence and absence of a concurrently present anticholinergic drug, atropine (0...

BACKGROUND: Dipyrone is a pyrazolone derivative used as an analgesic and antipyretic. Agranulocytosis, dipyrone's most serious and potentially fatal adverse effect, has led to its withdrawal in several countries. However, agranulocytosis is subject to geographical variability, ratio with at risks ranging from 0.8-23.7. In many countries dipyrone is still widely used in adults and children and even as an over-the-counter (OTC) preparation. Information on the effects of dipyrone overdose is scanty...

BACKGROUND: There is limited experience treating severe ethylene glycol poisoning in children without hemodialysis. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical course and outcome of severe pediatric ethylene glycol poisoning treated without hemodialysis. METHODS: Patient records were identified retrospectively by hospital discharge diagnosis (ICD-9 code) of ethylene glycol poisoning from 1999 through 2002 at a pediatric medial center. Patients with initial serum ethylene glycol concentrations less than 50 mg/dL or those who received hemodialysis were excluded...