Native mercury, hydrargyrism and the birth of occupational toxicology in Colombia.

The "La Esperanza" native mercury mine in Aranzazu, (Caldas, Colombia) was active from 1948 until 1975. Before the final closure of the mine, the company began using dimercaprol (BAL, British Anti-Lewisite) and penicillamine for the treatment of hydrargyrism among workers. Mercury poisoning among miners was frequent due to precarious working conditions, inadequate technology, difficult terrain, and the high toxicity of native mercury within the mine.

Drug Therapeutic Failures as a Cause of Admission to an Intensive Care Unit at a University Hospital.

Objective: Drug therapeutic failures (TFs) are included in pharmacovigilance reporting, as some authors consider them a type of adverse drug reaction. Given their high frequency in Colombia, we studied their importance as a cause of admission to an intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study.