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).

Case series: Alcohol intolerance with Coprine-like syndrome after consumption of the mushroom Lepiota aspera (Pers.:Fr.) Quél., 1886 (Freckled Dapperling).

Alcohol intolerance after consumption of wild mushrooms is a recognized phenomenon. This is best understood with Coprinus atramentarius. Its active component Coprine blocks enzymatic ethanol degradation at the stage of acetaldehyde, which is responsible for the well-recognized symptoms.

Neither DMPS nor DMSA is effective in quantitative elimination of elemental mercury after intentional IV injection.

Background: Intravenous injection of elemental mercury (Hg) is rare and considered relatively harmless. Treatment recommendations vary and the effectiveness of chelation therapy is controversial.

Case Report: A 27-year-old man intravenously injected 1.

Lithium poisoning: pharmacokinetics and clearance during different therapeutic measures.

The clinical features and pharmacokinetics of 22 lithium overdoses are described. Effectiveness of different treatment regimens regarding elimination of lithium is discussed. Origin of overdose was due to deliberate poisoning or precipitated by concomitant diseases, coadministration of drugs, or combination of both.

Acute endosulfan poisoning with cerebral edema and cardiac failure.

Background: Organochlorine insecticides are highly toxic compounds that are responsible for a number of severe intoxications worldwide with several deaths. Despite their widespread use in agriculture during the 1940s to 1960s and the well-known signs and symptoms of intoxication, the clinical picture in case of poisoning varies. We report two cases of acute intentional endosulfan intoxication with cerebral edema and cardiac failure.