Prognostic factors in acute poisoning with central nervous system xenobiotics: development of a nomogram predicting risk of intensive care unit admission.

Background: Acute intoxication with central nervous system (CNS) xenobiotics is an increasing global problem. Predicting the prognosis of acute toxic exposure among patients can significantly alter the morbidity and mortality. The present study outlined the early risk predictors among patients diagnosed with acute exposure to CNS xenobiotics and endorsed bedside nomograms for identifying patients requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission and those at risk of poor prognosis or death. Methods: This study is a 6-year retrospective cohort study conducted among patients presented with acute exposure to CNS xenobiotics. Results: A total of 143 patients' records were included, where (36.4%) were admitted to the ICU, and a significant proportion of which was due to exposure to alcohols, sedative hypnotics, psychotropic, and antidepressants (P = 0.021). ICU admission was associated with significantly lower blood pressure, pH, and HCO3 levels and higher random blood glucose (RBG), serum urea, and creatinine levels (P < 0.05). The study findings indicate that the decision of ICU admission could be determined using a nomogram combining the initial HCO3 level, blood pH, modified PSS, and GCS. HCO3 level < 17.1 mEq/L, pH < 7.2, moderate-to-severe PSS, and GCS < 11 significantly predicted ICU admission. Moreover, high PSS and low HCO3 levels significantly predicted poor prognosis and mortality. Hyperglycemia was another significant predictor of mortality. Combining initial GCS, RBG level, and HCO3 is substantially helpful in predicting the need for ICU admission in acute alcohol intoxication. Conclusion: The proposed nomograms yielded significant straightforward and reliable prognostic outcomes predictors in acute exposure to CNS xenobiotics.

[Acute Drug Poisoning among Adolescents Using Over-the-counter Drugs: Current Status].

We discuss the current status of, and possible countermeasures for, acute drug poisoning among adolescents using OTC drugs. In the last 10 years, 36 patients aged <20 years who overdosed on OTC drugs were examined for the type of drug ingested, its active ingredients in cases of lethal dose intake, and the relevant place of purchase. Patients aged <20 years accounted for 30% of all the cases. The ingestion of multi-ingredient common-cold medication was the highest at 23%, and no ingestion of any first-class OTC drugs was observed. Caffeine accounted for 54% of the cases of lethal dose intake. At 80%, the most common method of drug purchase was from drugstores and other OTC vendors. In recent years, the number of adolescents patients who take lethal doses of OTC drugs has been increasing, and new measures are needed to avoid such cases. School pharmacists and vendors play a major role in reducing the incidences of drug poisoning. As drugs can be easily purchased over the counter, increasing the vendors' awareness of the problem throughout society may be the quickest way to reduce the incidences of acute drug poisoning among adolescents.

[Prognostic criteria for the forensic diagnosis of acute drug poisoning at the stage of study of corpse]. / Prognosticheskie kriterii sudebno-meditsinskoi diagnostiki ostrykh otravlenii narkotikami na etape issledovaniya trupa.

We studied the morphological criteria that allow us to assess the need to send biological material to a forensic chemical study based on the results of a forensic medical study of a corpse in cases of suspected acute drug poisoning. According to a statistical analysis, it was determined that under the condition of death with a fast agonal period, the most characteristic prognostic signs of acute drug poisoning are young age, the presence of traces of injections and/or «wells¼, lung mass more than 1050 g, the sum of the size of the spleen exceeding 25. The use of a combination of the three indicated characteristic signs encountered in acute drug poisoning can increase the likelihood of detecting acute poisoning with psychoactive substances. Taking into account the tendency of recent years to increase the age of drug users, the possibility of using exclusively morphological characters has been objectively proven while maintaining the specificity of the diagnosis of acute drug poisoning.

Triage DOA® versus INSTANT-VIEW M-1® in Urinary Drug Screening for Acute Drug Poisoning: A Prospective Cross-sectional Study.

Objective In the management of patients with suspected acute drug poisoning, a screening test using the patient's urine is usually performed. The Triage DOA® and INSTANT-VIEW M-1® kits are two commonly used point-of-care screening kits in Japan. However, the relationship between the results of these screening kits and the blood concentration of the poisoning drug is not clear. In this study, we evaluated which kit is more useful for acute drug poisoning screening based on a comparison of their results with the results of a serum drug analysis. Methods This prospective cross-sectional study investigated all patients with acute drug poisoning admitted to a general hospital in Tokyo, Japan, over a nine-month period. The Triage DOA® and INSTANT-VIEW M-1® screening kits were used, and a qualitative serum analysis was conducted simultaneously in all cases. We compared the kits for use in screening patients with acute drug poisoning and evaluated the utility of the kits. Results For the 117 patients enrolled in this study, the 2 kits showed different sensitivities to benzodiazepines (Triage®, 78.6%; INSTANT-VIEW®, 90.5%). Both kits showed high sensitivity to barbiturates (Triage®, 87.0%; INSTANT-VIEW®, 91.3%) but low sensitivity to tricyclic antidepressants (Triage®, 25.0%; INSTANT-VIEW®, 45.8%). Conclusion Because the sensitivity varies depending on the kind of drug, it is difficult to discuss the superiority of these kits. However, this study compared the results of two types of urinary drug screening kits with the results of qualitative analysis of drugs in serum as a gold standard, providing important reference data.

Pharmaceutical Practice of Clinical Pharmacists Involved in the Treatment of Acute Metronidazole Poison-ing / 中国药师

To investigate the role of clinical pharmacists in the treatment team for acute drug poisoning,the pharmaceutical prac-tice of clinical pharmacists involved in the treatment of acute metronidazole poisoning was reported in the present paper. Clinical phar-macists assisted physicians in developing blood perfusion regimen on the basis of drug characteristics. Referring to the related guide-lines and evidence-based medicine, clinical pharmacists optimized the drug treatment programs to avoid drug-induced liver injury and stress ulcer. Meanwhile,clinical pharmacists provided an individualized heparin regimen and pharmaceutical care for the patient. With the close collaboration with physicians,the patient obtained perfect medicine therapy and pharmaceutical care. It is suggested clinical pharmacists play an active role in the rescue of acute drug poisoning patient by providing poisoning drug information for physicians time-ly and participating in the design of drug treatment programs using professional knowledge.

Sodium citrate anticoagulation in continuous plasma adsorption treatment of clinical research / 中华急诊医学杂志

Objective Explore the sodium citrate anticoagulation in the continuity of plasma adsorption closed-circuit circulation of anticoagulation therapy method and effect. Methods Line into the continuity of plasma adsorption treatment of 156 cases of acute drug poisoning patients were randomly(random number) divided into two groups, 78 cases in each group, respectively adopt low molecular heparin (group A), sodium citrate anticoagulation (group B). Contrast analysis of two groups after the therapy began 30 min, 3 h, 6 h before the filter in patients with pressure, transmembrane pressure, pressure drop, at the same time to compare two groups of 10 min before the start of treatment, after treatment began to 3 h, 6 h platelet, coagulation time live enzymes, vein in the body of free Ca2+, Na+and HCO3- 24 h and internal bleeding. Results Two groups in gender, age, clinical diagnosis, blood purification time comparative differences had no statistical significance (P>0.05);Two groups of 30 min after the start of treatment, 3 h, 6 h patients before pressure, transmembrane pressure, filter pressure drop compared differences were no statistical significance (P>0.05); Part of coagulation treatment after low molecular heparin group live enzymes the sodium citrate group significantly prolonged (P<0.01);Platelets, HCO3- the two groups after treatment, intravenous free Ca2+ and Na+ differences had no statistical significance (P>0.05). Conclusions In the continuous plasma adsorption treatment process using sodium citrate anticoagulation with clinical feasibility, safety.

[Peripheral circulatory support in acute poisoning: 10 years' experience]. / Asistencia circulatoria periférica en el curso de las intoxicaciones agudas: diez años de experiencia.

OBJECTIVES: Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) has become a common technique for treating refractory cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest induced by drug overdose. The aim of this paper is to present our group's 10-year experience (2002-2012) using ECLS to treat drug-induced, refractory cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest. We review 112 consecutive cases of acute poisoning requiring arteriovenous ECLS. We provided ECLS with a Rotaflow pump (Jostra-Maquette). In 71 cases (63%) the patient presented with refractory cardiac arrest; 41 (37%) presented with refractory cardiogenic shock. The dose ingested was very high in all cases. Survival was strongly related to presentation (cardiogenic shock vs cardiac arrest) and the type of drug taken. Survival was highest after overdoses of ß-blockers and antiarrhythmic drugs and lowest after overdoses of chloroquine, colchicine, or verapamil. Survival rates were very low in the subgroup of patients presenting with cardiac arrest who had taken hypnotics or sedatives, suggesting that the heart stopped more because of anoxia than because of a direct cardiotoxic effect. In contrast, in cardiotoxic drug-induced cardiac arrest, the survival rate of 10% was significantly higher than the rate in non cardiotoxic arrests. Survival rates in drug-induced cardiogenic shock ranged from 45% to 100%. We conclude that ECLS should be considered for the management of cardiotoxic drug overdose. Close cardiovascular monitoring should be initiated if a patient has taken a particularly high dose of a cardiotoxic drug. Severe cardiotoxicity is rare but life threatening. The use of ECLS in these cases should be based on clinical criteria. Early use of ECLS in drug-induced cardiogenic shock significantly improves survival. Delays in applying ECLS in severe drug-induced cardiotoxicity-diagnosed based on type of drug, dose, and hemodynamic effects-can lead to cardiac arrest and a worse outcome.

OBJETIVO: El soporte vital extracorpóreo (SVEC o ECLS: extracorporeal life support) se ha convertido en una técnica habitual en el tratamiento del shock cardiogénico refractario y de la parada cardiaca inducida por una intoxicación medicamentosa. Se presenta la experiencia de nuestro grupo en el SVEC durante un periodo de diez años (2002-2012) en estas dos entidades clínicas. Se resivsan 112 intoxicaciones agudas consecutivas que requirieron un SVEC arterio-venoso. El SVEC fue llevado a cabo utilizando una bomba Rotaflow® (Jostra-Maquette). El 63% de las intoxicaciones (71 casos) se presentaron con una parada cardiaca refractaria y el 37% (41 casos) con un shock cardiogénico refractario. En todos los casos, la dosis ingerida fue muy elevada. La probabilidad de supervivencia estuvo muy unida al modo de presentación del intoxicado (shock cardiogénico o parada cardiaca) y al tipo de fármaco ingerido por el paciente. La supervivencia fue mayor en las intoxicaciones por ß-bloqueantes y antiarrítmicos y menor en las intoxicaciones por cloroquina, colchicina y verapamilo. En las intoxicaciones por hipnosedantes que presentaron parada cardiaca, la tasa de supervivencia fue muy baja, indicando que dicha parada fue más el resultado de una anoxia que de un efecto cardiotóxico directo. Por el contrario, en los fármacos cardiotóxicos que indujeron parada cardiaca, la supervivencia fue alrededor del 10%, significativamente mayor que la tasa de supervivencia relacionada con una parada cardiaca de origen no tóxico. La probabilidad de supervivencia en el shock cardiogénico inducido por fármacos osciló entre el 45% y el 100%. Como conclusión, el SVEC ha de ser considerado como una opción terapéutica en la cardiotoxicidad por intoxicación medicamentosa. Una dosis ingerida particularmente elevada de un fármaco cardiotóxico debe motivar una estrecha monitorización cardiovascular del paciente. La toxicidad cardiaca grave no es frecuente, pero cuando se presenta pone en riesgo la vida del intoxicado. La indicación precoz del SVEC en el shock cardiogénico inducido por fármacos mejora de forma significativa la tasa de supervivencia. Cualquier retraso en el SVEC durante una cardiotoxicidad farmacológica grave, diagnosticada por el tipo de fármaco, la dosis y las consecuencias hemodinámicas, puede condicionar una parada cardiaca y un peor pronóstico del paciente.