Planning Considerations for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Partners to Receive Medical Countermeasures From CDC's Strategic National Stockpile During a Public Health Emergency.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Strategic National Stockpile is a national repository of potentially life-saving medical countermeasures including pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local, regional, and state supplies to run out. Several planning considerations can assist state, local, tribal, and territorial jurisdictions in preparing to receive, distribute, dispense, and administer medical countermeasures from the Strategic National Stockpile. These considerations include, but are not limited to, issues surrounding regulatory requirements, controlled substances, cold chain management, and ancillary supply needs.

Antitoxin Treatment of Inhalation Anthrax: A Systematic Review.

Concern about use of anthrax as a bioweapon prompted development of novel anthrax antitoxins for treatment. Clinical guidelines for the treatment of anthrax recommend antitoxin therapy in combination with intravenous antimicrobials; however, a large-scale or mass anthrax incident may exceed antitoxin availability and create a need for judicious antitoxin use. We conducted a systematic review of antitoxin treatment of inhalation anthrax in humans and experimental animals to inform antitoxin recommendations during a large-scale or mass anthrax incident.

Expert consensus guidelines for stocking of antidotes in hospitals that provide emergency care.

Study Objective: We developed recommendations for antidote stocking at hospitals that provide emergency care.

Methods: An expert panel representing diverse perspectives (clinical pharmacology, clinical toxicology, critical care medicine, clinical pharmacy, emergency medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, poison centers, pulmonary medicine, and hospital accreditation) was formed to create recommendations for antidote stocking. Using a standardized summary of the medical literature, the primary reviewer for each antidote proposed guidelines for antidote stocking to the full panel.

Atropine availability as an antidote for nerve agent casualties: validated rapid reformulation of high-concentration atropine from bulk powder.

Study Objective: Atropine is the preferred antidote for immediate management of toxicity associated with nerve agents or other cholinergic syndromes. A large-scale exposure to a nerve agent or organophosphate insecticide might result in many victims presenting for care within a short period of time. This situation would require the prompt availability of a large amount of atropine to provide treatment.