Toxicology Flashcards
Six Indications of a Drug/Alcohol Emergency
- Unresponsiveness
- Respiratory difficulty
- Fever
- Tachycardia, Bradycardia, an Irregular Pulse
- Vomiting with AMS
- Seizures
General findings for CNS Stimulants (Secondary Assessment)
- Excitability, elevated mood
- agitation, apprehension, uncooperativeness
- Tachycardia
- Tachypnea
- Dilated pupils
- Dry mouth
- Sweating
- Increased blood pressure
- Loss of appetite
- Lack of sleep
General findings for CNS Depressants (Secondary Assessment)
- Euphoria
- Drowsiness
- Sleepiness
- Bradypnea and decreased tidal volume
- Bradycardia
- Hypotension
- Pupils respond sluggishly to light
General findings for Narcotics (Secondary Assessment)
- Bradycardia
- Hypotension
- Inadequate breathing
- Cool, clammy skin
- Lethargy
- Constricted pupils
- Nausea
General findings for Hallucinogens (Secondary Assessment)
- Motor disturbances
- Paranoia
- Anxiety
- Visual or auditory hallucinations
- Tachycardia
- Dilated pupils
- Flushed face
- Poor perception of time and distance
General findings for Volatile Inhalants (Secondary Assessment)
- Excrement
- Euphoria
- Drunkenness
- Aggressiveness
- Depression
- Headache
- Nausea
- Drowsiness
- Swollen mucous membranes of the nose and mouth
- Glazed eyes
- Slurred speech
- Hallucinations
- Poor coordination
- Erratic blood pressure and pulse
- Paint or chemical stains about the nose and mouth
Stages of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome
Stage 1: Alcoholic tremulousness (Difficulty concentrating, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, sweating, nausea, tremors
Stage 2: Alcoholic hallucinosis (Visual, auditory, or tactile hallucinations)
Stage 3: Withdrawal seizures
Stage 4: Delirium tremens (Confusion, inattentiveness, disorientation, fever, nausea, vomiting, incoherence, hyperirritability, hallucinations, insomnia, diaphoresis)
Routes of Exposure of a Drug
- Ingestion
- Inhalation
- Injection
- Absorption
Causes of food poisoning
Nonviruses (type of viruses, like stomach flu virus), Bacteria, Parasites, Toxic agents
Carbon monoxide versus oxygen binding to hemoglobin
CO bonds w/ 200x greater affinity
Signs of cyanide poisoning
- a burning sensation in the mouth and throat
- headache
- confusion, agitated behavior
- pulmonary edema
- seizure
- hypertension
- tachycardia
- progresses to hypotension, shock, coma, and death.
Signs of CO poisoning
Initial symptoms are headache, fatigue, and nausea/vomiting
Leads to severe hypoxia & death
Signs of caustic ingestion
Caustic ingestion= ingestion of acids or alkalis
Signs:
Drooling, difficulty swallowing, and pain to the mouth, chest, and stomach, burns around mouth and bleeding in esophagus and stomach
Signs of hydrocarbon poisoning
Hydrocarbons are in petroleum products, cleaning products
Signs:
Coughing, dyspnea, altered mental status, tachycardia, irregular heartbeat, cyanosis, nausea, vomiting, seizure, pneumonia, brain/kidney/heart injury, and death
Stages of Ethylene glycol overdose
Common component of radiator fluid, sweet smelling/tasting
Stage 1: (1-12 hrs) Similar to signs of intoxication
Stage 2: (12-24 hrs) Signs of cardiovascular /pulmonary distress (cyanosis, tachypnea, pulmonary edema, dyspnea).
Stage 3: (24-72 hrs) Problems with renal system (decrease in urine production (oliguria) to no urine production (anuria), bloody urine (hematuria), and low back pain (mainly in the flanks)).
Absorbed
Passage of a substance through skin or mucous membranes
upon contact.
Activated characol
A distilled charcoal in powder form that can adsorb many
times its weight in contaminants to prevent their absorption by
the body; no longer commonly administered in the emergency
care of patients who have ingested a poison.
Antidote
A substance that neutralizes the effects of a poison or a toxic
substance.
Drug abuse
Self-administration of drugs (or a single drug) in a manner that
is not in accord with approved medical or social patterns
Hallucinogens
Substances that cause hallucinations, or false perceptions not
based on reality; also called “psychedelics”.
Huffers
People who inhale vapors to “get high”.
Ingested
Substance that is swallowed and enters the gastrointestinal
tract.
Inhaled
Breathing in a gas, vapor, fume, or aerosol into the lungs.
Injection
Forced introduction into the body through the skin, possibly
into a muscle or blood vessel, usually via a syringe, a bite, or a
sting.
Narcotics
CNS depressants derived from opium (opiates) or from synthetic opium (opioids).
Pharming
Raiding others’ home medicine supplies or using faked
prescriptions to obtain drugs.
Poision
Any substance—liquid, solid, or gas—that impairs health or
causes death by its chemical action when it enters the body or omes into contact with the skin.
Toxin
Drugs or substances that are poisonous to humans and cause
certain adverse effects that may ultimately lead to death;
“toxin” sometimes considered a synonym to “poison”;
sometimes defined more narrowly as a poisonous substance
of plant or animal origin.
Volatile inhalants
Substances that are easily vaporized and inhalable.
Withdrawal
A syndrome that occurs after a period of abstinence from the
alcohol or drugs to which a person’s body has become
accustomed.
