Single dose activated charcoal for gut decontamination: Application by medical non-professionals -a prospective study on availability and practicability.

Context: Oral activated charcoal (AC) for toxin absorption should be applied as soon as possible. Extra-hospital AC-application on site by medical laypersons with pre-emptive obtained AC may save time, but may be inferior to AC-application by medical professionals.

Objective: 1) Availability and incidence of pre-emptive stockpiling of AC on site in the German region Bavaria 2) time saved by AC-stockpiling and application on site, 3) quality of AC-application defined by completeness of the applied AC-dose, time needed, incidence of side-effects in lay-care and in professional-care, considering confounding variables: AC-formulation/powder/tablets, recommended AC-dose, patient's age.

Simultaneous determination of cucurbitacin B, E, I and E-glucoside in plant material and body fluids by HPLC-MS.

A selective and sensitive analytical method for the simultaneous determination of cucurbitacin B, E, I and E-glucoside in plant material and body fluids by HPLC-MS was developed. After liquid-liquid extraction with dichlormethane, separation was achieved on a Phenomenex Luna Pentafluorophenyl Column (150mm×2mm, 5μm) using acetonitrile-water (90:10, v/v) as mobile phase system. Detection was performed using a 3200 Q Trap mass spectrometer (AB Sciex).

No clinically relevant effects in children after accidental ingestion of Panaeolina foenisecii (lawn mower's mushroom).

Introduction: Panaeolina foenisecii is one of the most common and widely distributed lawn mushrooms in Europe and North America, and frequently involved in accidental mushroom ingestion, mainly in children. Nevertheless, there is contradictory information regarding the toxicity profile of P. foenisecii in the literature.

Prediction of extubation failure in medical intensive care unit patients.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate prediction factors for extubation failure (need for reintubation within 48 hours) in medical intensive care unit patients.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-one patients extubated after mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours were included in the study. A retrospective analysis of medical records and a prospectively maintained database on respiratory parameters was conducted.