“All things are poison,” so what should we test for? Evaluation of Poisoning and Drug Overdose Kara Lynch, PhD, DABCC
[email protected] University of California San Francisco San Francisco, CA Learning Objectives • Understand the laboratories role in the diagnosis and treatment of the overdosed patient • Review the pathophysiology of toxic exposures • Identify the common toxidromes and causative agents • Calculate the osmolar gap and anion gap • Be able to recognize drug overdoses Paraclesus – “father of toxicology” • “All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; only the dose permits something not to be poisonous.” • “The dose makes the poison.” • substances considered toxic are harmless in small doses, and an ordinarily harmless substance can be deadly if over-consumed Paraclesus, 1490 - 1541 Definition of “Poisoning” • A poisoning occurs when a person’s exposure to a natural or manmade substance has an undesirable effect - CDC • Poisonings can be classified as: – Self-harm or suicide – Assault or homicide – Unintentional or accidental, when no harm was intended – includes overdoses resulting from drug misuse, drug abuse or taking too much of a drug for medical reasons Monitoring Poisonings • AAPCC – American Association of Poison Control Centers – – National poison data system (NPDS) annual report • DAWN – Drug Abuse Warning Network • SAMHSA World Drug Report – Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration • CDC – Center for Disease Control – National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) Poisoning / Overdose Trends