Poisoning and toxicological emergencies - current trends and practice.

Poisoning is a common presentation to hospital acute medical units, and can produce a variety of clinical scenarios. This review discusses the epidemiology of poisoning, a framework for managing patients with drug toxicity and considerations in the diagnosis of toxicity with unknown substances. The commonest substances seen in toxicity in the UK - paracetamol, antidepressants, sedatives and opioids are discussed in more detail.