Biostatistics and Epidemiology for the Toxicologist: Likelihood Ratios.

Likelihood ratios compare two values (i.e., case rates) in order to illustrate the magnitude of the difference between the two.

Bayes' theorem, COVID19, and screening tests.

The COVID19 crisis has provided a portal to revisit and understand qualities of screening tests and the importance of Bayes' theorem in understanding how to interpret results and implications of next actions.

Racial variations in the incidence of severe alcohol withdrawal.

Unlabelled: The use of race as a risk assessment tool and pharmacologic target has garnered recent attention and debate. It is currently unclear if a relationship between race and the development of severe alcohol withdrawal exists. We explored this potential relationship using several study groups.

Phentolamine therapy for cocaine-association acute coronary syndrome (CAACS).

Introduction: The emergency department (ED) evaluation of cocaine-associated acute coronary syndrome (CAACS) is often a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.

Case Report: We are reporting on the treatment of a patient with cocaine-associated acute coronary syndrome (CAACS) who did not benefit from standard therapy, but who eventually responded positively to phentolamine, an alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonist.

Discussion: This report should encourage physicians to add phentolamine to their pharmacotherapeutic armamentarium in the treatment of CAACS.

Testing positive for methadone and either a tricyclic antidepressant or a benzodiazepine is associated with an accidental overdose death: analysis of medical examiner data.

Objectives: Patients in emergency departments who use methadone frequently use tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and/or benzodiazepines (BZDs). This is a potentially dangerous drug combination. The authors hypothesized that the presence of methadone and a TCA, a BZD, or both is associated with an "accidental" overdose (AOD) death more often than a death from any other cause.

Fracture of the lateral process of the talus associated with snowboarding.

Snowboarding is one of the fastest-growing winter sports and is associated with a relatively high rate of ankle injuries. Presented is a patient who, after falling while snowboarding, complained of lateral ankle pain and was misdiagnosed with an ankle sprain. Further workup revealed a lateral process of the talus fracture, an injury that is rare outside of snowboarding.