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) · Jan 2016
Observational StudyEpidemiology of acute poisoning in children presenting to the poisoning treatment center at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, 2009-2013.
Pediatric poisonings represent a major and preventable cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Epidemiologic information about poisoning among children in many lower- and middle-income countries is scarce. This study describes the epidemiology of acute poisonings in children presenting to Ain Shams University's Poisoning Treatment Center (ASU-PTC) in Cairo and determines the causative agents and characteristics of acute poisoning in several pediatric age groups. ⋯ Poisoning in preschool children is mainly unintentional and commonly due to nonpharmaceutical agents whereas poisoning in adolescents is mainly intentional (self-harm). Pesticides, mainly organophosphorous compounds and carbamates, were the most frequent agents leading to morbidity and mortality.
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Clin Toxicol (Phila) · Jan 2016
ReviewSea-dumped chemical weapons: environmental risk, occupational hazard.
Chemical weapons dumped into the ocean for disposal in the twentieth century pose a continuing environmental and human health risk. ⋯ Improving technology continues to make the deep sea more accessible, thus increasing the risk of disturbing munitions lying on or buried in the seabed. Pipe laying, cable burying, drilling, scuba diving, trawling, and undersea scientific research are the activities posing the most risk. The long-term threat to the benthic habitat via increased arsenic concentrations, shifts in microbiota speciation, and chronic toxicity to vertebrates and invertebrates is not currently understood. The risk to the environment of massive release via disturbance remains a distinct possibility. Terrorist recovery and re-weaponization of chemical agents is a remote possibility.
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Clin Toxicol (Phila) · Jan 2016
Observational StudyPlasma neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin as a predictive biomarker for the detection of acute kidney injury in adult poisoning.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a serious complication in intoxicated patients. Recently, a new biomarker - neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) - was used to predict AKI in patients who were critically ill or had sepsis. ⋯ Plasma NGAL may serve as a good predictor of AKI in cases of adult poisoning.
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Clin Toxicol (Phila) · Jan 2016
Comparative StudyDifferential physiological and behavioral cues observed in individuals smoking botanical marijuana versus synthetic cannabinoid drugs.
Synthetic cannabinoid use has increased in many states, and medicinal and/or recreational marijuana use has been legalized in some states. These changes present challenges to law enforcement drug recognition experts (DREs) who determine whether drivers are impaired by synthetic cannabinoids or marijuana, as well as to clinical toxicologists who care for patients with complications from synthetic cannabinoids and marijuana. Our goal was to compare what effects synthetic cannabinoids and marijuana had on performance and behavior, including driving impairment, by reviewing records generated by law enforcement DREs who evaluated motorists arrested for impaired driving. ⋯ Drivers under the influence of synthetic cannabinoids were more frequently impaired with confusion, disorientation, and incoherent, slurred speech than drivers under the influence of marijuana in this population evaluated by DREs.
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Clin Toxicol (Phila) · Jan 2016
ReviewExtracorporeal treatment for digoxin poisoning: systematic review and recommendations from the EXTRIP Workgroup.
The Extracorporeal Treatments in Poisoning (EXTRIP) workgroup was formed to provide recommendations on the use of extracorporeal treatments (ECTR) in poisoning. Here, we present our results for digoxin. ⋯ ECTR, in any form, is not indicated for either suspected or proven digoxin toxicity, regardless of the clinical context, and is not indicated for removal of digoxin-Fab complex.