Poison center consultation reduces hospital length of stay.

Context: Prior studies have observed shorter lengths of stay when practitioners consult a US poison control center (PCC) regarding hospitalized toxicology patients, but the most recent study used data from 2010. Since then, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, a trend toward shorter hospitalizations and substantial adjustments in hospital charges have occurred.

Methods: This is a retrospective study of administrative hospital data and poison center data obtained from the Wisconsin Hospital Association and Wisconsin Poison Center for patients treated from 2010 to 2017.

Trioxane Ingestion in a Child.

Trioxane is a stable cyclic trimer of formaldehyde. It is an active ingredient in fuel bars for heating prepackaged foods by military and outdoorspeople. Trioxane depolymerizes to formaldehyde in an acidic environment and is further oxidized to formic acid, which causes neurologic and ocular damage.

Medical outcomes of bromethalin rodenticide exposures reported to US poison centers after federal restriction of anticoagulants.

Exposures to bromethalin rodenticides have increased since restrictions were placed on long acting anticoagulant rodenticide (LAAR) registrations in 2008. Bromethalin works, in part, by uncoupling mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Toxicity in humans is not well characterized and no antidote is available.

A Case of Toxic Breast-feeding?

Opiates are frequently prescribed postpartum for pain relief after cesarean delivery, episiotomies, and headaches. It is estimated that greater than 30% of breast-feeding mothers in the United States are prescribed opiates for pain relief associated with childbirth. Many opiates are readily transferred to human milk, although life-threatening events are rare.

Review of the use of lipid emulsion in nonlocal anesthetic poisoning.

Intravenous lipid emulsion (ILE) has been used widely for the treatment of poisoning due to local anesthetic agent and is increasingly reported as a therapy for other forms of poisoning. This article will review the proposed mechanisms of action for ILE in poisoning and the evidence from animal studies and human experience supporting the use of ILE for poisoning due to nonlocal anesthetic agents.

A prospective, randomized trial of intravenous prochlorperazine versus subcutaneous sumatriptan in acute migraine therapy in the emergency department.

Study Objective: Intravenous (IV) prochlorperazine with diphenhydramine is superior to subcutaneous sumatriptan in the treatment of migraine patients presenting to the emergency department (ED).

Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, after providing written informed consent, patients presenting to the ED with a chief complaint of migraine received a 500-mL bolus of IV saline solution and either 10 mg prochlorperazine with 12.5 mg diphenhydramine IV plus saline solution placebo subcutaneously or saline solution placebo IV plus 6 mg sumatriptan subcutaneously.

Prochlorperazine vs. promethazine for headache treatment in the emergency department: a randomized controlled trial.

Headache is a very common medical complaint. Four to six percent of the population will have a debilitating headache in their lifetime; and 1-2% of all Emergency Department (ED) visits involve patients with headaches. Although promethazine is used frequently, it has never been studied as a single-agent treatment in undifferentiated headache.

Understanding poison control and protecting its future.

Poison centers save money and lives. Individual patients and their doctors benefit from local poison center availability, as do healthcare facilities and insurance companies. All have a stake in a stable poison control system.