Clinical toxicology : the official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology and European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists
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Clin Toxicol (Phila) · Dec 2013
Fatalities involving acetaminophen combination products reported to United States poison centers.
Deaths from overdose of acetaminophen (APAP) combination medications are reported, yet the individual ingredients are not well examined as individual putative causes of death. ⋯ The most common putative cause of death in fatal overdoses involving APAP combination products reported to US poison centers is the APAP component.
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Clin Toxicol (Phila) · Dec 2013
2012 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poison Data System (NPDS): 30th Annual Report.
This is the 30(th) Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' (AAPCC) National Poison Data System (NPDS). As of July 1, 2012, 57 of the nation's poison centers (PCs) uploaded case data automatically to NPDS. The upload interval was 7.58 [6.30, 11.22] (median [25%, 75%]) min, creating a near real-time national exposure and information database and surveillance system. ⋯ These data support the continued value of PC expertise and need for specialized medical toxicology information to manage the more severe exposures, despite a decrease in calls involving less severe exposures. Unintentional and intentional exposures continue to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the US. The near real-time, always current status of NPDS represents a national public health resource to collect and monitor US exposure cases and information calls. The continuing mission of NPDS is to provide a nationwide infrastructure for public health surveillance for all types of exposures, public health event identification, resilience response, and situational awareness tracking. NPDS is a model system for the nation and global public health.
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Clin Toxicol (Phila) · Nov 2013
Comparative StudyPerformance of clinical scoring systems in acute organophosphate poisoning.
Clinical scoring systems are used to predict mortality rate in hospitalized patients. Their utility in organophosphate (OP) poisoning has not been well studied. ⋯ In acute OP poisoning, the generic scoring systems APACHE-II and SAPS-II outperform the PSS. These tools may be used to predict the mortality rate in OP poisoning.
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Clin Toxicol (Phila) · Nov 2013
Case ReportsToxicity and death following recreational use of 2-pyrrolidino valerophenone.
Consumption of substituted cathinones, frequently called 'legal highs' or 'designer drugs', is increasing in the European Union. In July 2012, the French Medicine Agency listed the substituted cathinone's chemical family as narcotic and psychotropic substances, to restrict their use and distribution. We present, here, the first documented cases of recreational use of 2-pyrrolidino valerophenone (PVP) associated with death for one patient, with post-mortem toxicological analysis. ⋯ PVP belongs to the substituted cathinones chemical family. These cases highlight the need for emergency physicians, toxicologists and networks of toxicovigilance to control the use of these substances and their dangers, quickly identify cases of severe poisoning associated with the use of new drugs and to develop detection methods.