Toxicology letters
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There has been a significant evolution in the clinical management of the poisoned patient over the last decade. Interventions that were once the cornerstone of treating the poisoned patient have become passé or have come under intense scrutiny. The advent of evidence-based medicine has forced clinical scientists to re-evaluate standard therapies. ⋯ Very few antidotes, however, are used on a consistent basis in the management of poisoned victims. The indiscriminate use of antidotes may even be harmful to the patient and incur an inordinate expense. In addition to the commonly known antidotes N-acetylcysteine (acetaminophen, paracetamol), naloxone (opioids) and flumazenil (benzodiazepines), new antidotes include fomepizole to treat ethylene glycol and methanol poisoning and Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine) for pit viper envenomation.
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A number of the autoimmune rheumatic diseases are associated with environmental factors, drugs and chemicals. The often non-specific presentation of these diseases makes early diagnosis difficult. The availability of serological markers such as autoantibodies improves diagnostic ability when taken in context with the presenting clinical features. This review focuses on some of the major autoimmune rheumatic diseases and their associated autoantibody markers.