Methadone safety: a clinical practice guideline from the American Pain Society and College on Problems of Drug Dependence, in collaboration with the Heart Rhythm Society.

Unlabelled: Methadone is used for the treatment of opioid addiction and for treatment of chronic pain. The safety of methadone has been called into question by data indicating a large increase in the number of methadone-associated overdose deaths in recent years that has occurred in parallel with a dramatic rise in the use of methadone for chronic pain. The American Pain Society and the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, in collaboration with the Heart Rhythm Society, commissioned an interdisciplinary expert panel to develop a clinical practice guideline on safer prescribing of methadone for treatment of opioid addiction and chronic pain.

Poison prevention: engineering in primary prevention.

Objectives: Over the past 50 years we have seen improvements in outcomes of poisonings in the United States. I intend to discuss the approaches to prevention.

Methods: I review various primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies in relationship to poison prevention.

Asymptomatic congenital lead poisoning - case report.

Context: Congenital lead poisoning is uncommon and there is no consensus on the management of the newborn.

Case Details: A female infant was born to a lead-burdened woman identified by screening just prior to delivery. Maternal blood lead level (BLL) was 58 μg/dL.

Poison control centers' role in glow product-related outbreak detection: implications for comprehensive surveillance system.

Introduction: The development of syndromic surveillance systems to detect bioterrorist attacks and emerging infectious diseases has become an important and challenging goal to many governmental agencies and healthcare authorities. This study utilized the sharp increase of glow product-related calls to demonstrate the utility of poison control data for early detection of potential outbreaks during the week of Halloween in 2007.

Methods: A review was conducted of the electronic records of exposures reported to the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES) Poison Control Hotline from 2002 through 2007 with generic code number 0201027 (glow products) set by the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC).

Evaluation of adverse drug reactions reported to a poison control center between 2000 and 2007.

Purpose: The likelihood of hospitalization caused by adverse drug reactions (ADRs) from commonly implicated therapeutic groups is discussed.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of the computerized records of exposure cases involving pharmaceutical substances reported to the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES) was conducted from 2000 through 2007. The cases in the National Poisoning Data System that were categorized as an ADR were included in the study set.

A descriptive study of an outbreak of clenbuterol-containing heroin.

Study Objective: Illicit drugs may be adulterated with substances other than the sought-after substance of abuse. Although the true incidence and clinical effects of this practice are unknown, geographically disparate outbreaks of clinically significant adulteration continue to occur. We report on a recent outbreak of clenbuterol-adulterated heroin occurring along the East Coast of the United States.

The impact of a poison control center on the length of hospital stay for patients with poisoning.

While previous research suggests that poison control centers (PCCs) significantly reduce the number of emergency room visits and resultant health care costs for poisonings, little is known regarding the potential impact of the PCC on the length of hospital stay. The aim of this study was to examine whether assistance from a PCC is associated with a shorter length of hospital stay for patients admitted with poisonings. The cases reported to our PCC were matched over a period of 1 yr with the hospital admissions E-coded as poisonings in the Uniform Billing (UB) data maintained by the state health department.

Botulism in 4 adults following cosmetic injections with an unlicensed, highly concentrated botulinum preparation.

Context: Botulism is a potentially lethal paralytic disease caused primarily by toxins of the anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Although botulinum toxin A is available by prescription for cosmetic and therapeutic use, no cases of botulism with detectable serum toxin have previously been attributed to cosmetic or therapeutic botulinum toxin injections. On November 27, 2004, 4 suspected botulism case-patients with a link to cosmetic botulinum toxin injections were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Assessment of barriers to utilization of poison centers by Hispanic/Latino populations.

Previous research suggests that Spanish-speaking parents and residents of areas with large Hispanic and Latino populations are likely to underutilize the assistance that is available through poison control centers (PCCs). In order to examine any real and perceived barriers to utilization of the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES), the only poison control center in the state, an intercept survey was conducted with self-identified Hispanics/Latinos at Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) centers and in nearby grocery stores, bus stops, and public laundromats. Only 38% of the study sample (n = 206) had heard of NJPIES.

Assessment of the utilization of a state AIDS/STD hotline by persons with and without HIV infection and their information needs.

A large number of AIDS/sexually transmitted disease (STD) helplines provide support to people seeking information how to avoid infection with HIV or how to deal with the infection if they have already contracted it. Nevertheless, limited knowledge is available about how such helplines are being utilized by different segments of the population and what the main concerns of the people calling the helplines are. The goal of this study was to evaluate the use of the State AIDS/STD Hotline in New Jersey and describe the information needs of its callers.

Case of elevated blood lead in a South Asian family that has used Sindoor for food coloring.

After a routine blood testing, a local pediatrician discovered that a 13-month-old boy had an elevated blood lead level (BLL) of 57 microg/dL. Since the baby was mostly breast-fed, the pediatrician did a blood test on the mother, and the result showed a BLL of 85 microg/dL. As the mother denied any history of pica behavior, the pediatrician suspected a source of lead to which the entire family might have been exposed and tested the father's BLL.

Seasonal changes in poisoning exposures reported to a regional poison center from coastal resort areas.

This study examined the role of seasonality in the reporting of poisoning exposures from geographically distinct regions, specifically from coastal resort and vacation areas. The monthly distribution of calls received by a regional poison control center from counties with popular beach and vacation resorts was compared with the monthly distribution of the overall calls to the center. A chi-square goodness-of-fit test was used to determine if there was a significant difference between the monthly distribution of calls received from the resort counties and the overall calls received by the poison center.