Poisoning and Antidotes Flashcards
How many admissions yearly for self-poisoning in England and Wales
160k
How many adults conscious on arrival to hospital after self-poisoning
80%
Who is more likely to take an overdose
Females
Who is more likely to be successful in suicide
Males using measures that don’t involve medication
Define poisoning
Exposure to a drug, chemical, pollutant in enough quanitity to produce an adverse effect
Can be acute or chronic
How many cases of poisoning are accidental
almost 50%
Percentages of poisoning at home, workplace and related to oral adminsitration
90%
5%
90%
How many cases of poisoning are deliberate
25%
How many cases of poisoning are due to therapeutic error
20%
Examples of accidental poisoning
Children e.g. household chemicals and parents medications
Duplication of therapy
Confusion over doses
Prescribing or dispensing errors
Counterfeit drugs that may contain harmful ingredients of contaminants
Examples of deliberate poisoning
Deliberate poisoning is when you poison others to cause harm
Overtaking medicines for beenfits e.g. thyroxine for weight loss
Drug misuse, self-harm and suicide
What is the case in most scenarios when there is deliberate poisoning: adminsitration, how many drugs, most commonly implicated 2nd agent
Self administration of a prescribed or OTC medicine or illicit drug
Most patients have taken 1+ drug, alcohol is the most commonly implicated 2nd agent
What is occupational poisoning
Chemicals found in place of work e.g. Xrays, lead, mercury, asbestos, pesticides, solvents, corrosive agents, fertilisers, snake bites
What is environmental poisoning
e.g. air, water, soil pollution
CO poisoning from dodgy boilet in rented properties is common
Stats for CO poisoning
50 deaths/year
4k medical visits for CO exposure
Poisoning in pregnancy
Unborn child can be very vulnerable to the effects of drugs and chemials
Lots of teratogenic medicines e.g. isotretinoin, valproate, alcohol etc
Also environmental poisoning
Majory of poisons reported are due to…
Poisons
Top 3 common drugs taken in overdose and stats
Paracetamol (~170k/year reported on ToxBase)
Ibuprofen (~55k/year)
Codeine (~40k/year)