[A wine pitcher, cause of lead poisoning].

A 35-year-old male nurse hospitalized for recurrent episodes of intolerable abdominal pain was found to have non-hemolytic anemia and saturnism with blood lead level reaching 500 micrograms/l. Search for the source of the lead led to the discovery of an earthenware jug purchased in a Corsica craftsware shop. This jug had been used to hold the patient's daily consumption of wine (estimated at one-half to three-quarters liters per day) in the refrigerator.

Four cases of amitraz poisoning in humans.

Only 7 cases of human poisoning with amitraz have been previously published and most of them are poorly documented. Four additional cases are now reported. The symptoms observed were remarkably similar in all cases: all patients experienced drowsiness; 3 presented with bradycardia, miosis and/or hyperglycemia; 2 developed hypotension and/or vomiting.

Paraquat poisoning by skin absorption: report of two cases.

Two cases of paraquat poisoning resulting from skin absorption are reported. One patient died from respiratory failure 26 d after deliberate application of the herbicide onto his whole body as a treatment for scabies. The other patient developed extensive dermatitis (probably a complication of pre-existing psoriasis).

[Latrodectism in southern France. A series of cases from the poisoning center of Marseille].

Objectives: Black widows, which belong to the genus Latrodectus, are particularly dangerous spiders. The clinical syndrome caused by their bite is known as latrodectism. In Provence and in Corsica, there is a locally-found species, Latrodectus mactans tredecimguttatus called "malmignate".

Efficacy of 4-methylpyrazole in ethylene glycol poisoning: clinical and toxicokinetic aspects.

Potentially fatal ethylene glycol intoxication in an adult with normal renal function was treated with 4-methylpyrazole administered three hours after the incident occurred. The plasma ethylene glycol concentration was 3.5 g l-1 on admission.

[Benzodiazepine levels in drivers involved in traffic accidents].

A study of benzodiazepine impregnation of 234 drivers involved in road accidents showed a higher level of impregnation than that usually observed in the general population and a different frequency of this impregnation in the two populations. Although a significant correlation was found between responsibility of the driver and positivity of benzodiazepine assays, this result must be interpreted with caution and does not permit to attribute the responsibility for the accident to the presence of benzodiazepine in blood.

[Acute toxicity of zidovudine. Analysis of the literature and number of cases at the Paris Poison Control Center].

13 cases of zidovudine overdosage have been previously published; 30 have been notified to Paris Control Poison Centre up to January 1991. This analysis shows that acute toxicity appears infrequent and mild when ingested dose is lower than 25 gr. However it appears from this series that an haematologic monitoring is needed because of the risk of myelosuppression.

[Duodenal perforations by the hooks of a Kimray-Greenfield filter].

A case is reported of a duodenal perforation by a Kimray-Greenfield filter hook in a 66-year-old female patient. This device had been inserted four years before, after a pulmonary embolism. The patient presented with epigastric pain, vomiting and extracellular dehydration with renal failure.

[Evaluation of 1st semester activity of the Algiers Poison Center].

The Poisons Center located in Bab el Oued University Hospital of Algiers has been opened to the public since January 2, 1991. The staff is made of public health physicians and pharmacists residents trained in toxicology. Phone calls are a new means for obtaining advice on poisonings and the public must be informed on the modalities of use.

[Buprenorphine abuse in a series of 50 drug addicts hospitalized at a Drug Dependence Evaluation hospital in Marseille].

Buprenorphine, a synthetic central analgesic, marketed since 1987, was rapidly suspected to be subject to abuse. We tried to confirm this abuse in the context of our analytical activity at the Drug Dependence Evaluation and Information Centre. The study was based on 50 drug addicts admitted to Marseille Hospital between June and October 1992.

Evaluation of a computerized program (ARSENIC) as an aid for telephone consultations in a poison center.

ARSENIC is a computerized system providing assistance for telephone consultation in poison centers. Its main characteristic is to blend the document consultation process with the case-recording procedure. It has been used in the daily routine of our poison center since 1987.

[Drug-induced aseptic meningitis].

Aseptic meningitis is a very rare drug reaction involving non-steroidal antiinflammatory agents (ibuprofen and sulindac), antibiotics (cotrimoxazole, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin) and miscellaneous drugs such as carbamazepine, human immune globulin and muromonab CD3. Meningeal symptoms occur a few hours after drug intake and resolve without sequelae within one or two days after drug withdrawal, mainly in young females with systemic lupus erythematosus or mixed connective tissue disease. Biological findings and radiological investigations are not suggestive of an infectious etiology or rheumatological/neurological disturbances.

[Iodoform poisoning. 3 cases].

Three cases of iodoform poisoning are described following dressings with 10% iodoform gauze (0.10 x 5 m) on extended wounds. Five, ten and sixteen days after the beginning of dressings, the patients became confuse, hallucinated, and one of them was subsequently comatose.

[Current status of poisoning by ingestion of caustics: apropos of a series of 49 cases].

The authors report the history of 49 patients, admitted to an intensive care unit after a caustic or corrosive ingestion. This series follows a similar one, related in 1979. An update is made for early evaluation and management, based on patients classification in three groups: severe cases, moderate cases, mild cases.