General Diagnosis Of Poisoning PDF

General diagnosis of poisoning  Common Types of Poisoning: Medication overdose (e.g., acetaminophen, opioids) Household chemicals (e.g., cleaning products, pesticides) Recreational drugs (e.g., alcohol, cocaine) Environmental toxins (e.g., carbon monoxide, lead) Plant and animal toxins (e.g...

General diagnosis of poisoning  Common Types of Poisoning: Medication overdose (e.g., acetaminophen, opioids) Household chemicals (e.g., cleaning products, pesticides) Recreational drugs (e.g., alcohol, cocaine) Environmental toxins (e.g., carbon monoxide, lead) Plant and animal toxins (e.g., poisonous mushrooms, snake venom) Diagnosis of poisoning is based on: A.Clinical Approach: 1. History Taking: Identify the poison: name, amount, route of exposure Time of exposure or ingestion Intentional vs. accidental exposure Patient's symptoms and their onset Pre-existing medical conditions Current medications 2. Physical Examination Vital signs: temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate Level of consciousness (Glasgow Coma Scale) Pupil size and reactivity Skin color, moisture, and temperature Breath odor Presence of seizures or muscle fasciculations B. Laboratory Approach:  Initial Tests: Complete blood count (CBC) Basic metabolic panel (BMP) Liver function tests (LFTs) Coagulation profile Arterial blood gas (ABG) Urinalysis  Specific Toxicology Tests: Serum acetaminophen level Serum salicylate level Ethanol level Carboxyhemoglobin level Serum osmolality and osmolar gap Anion gap Urine drug screen  Advanced Diagnostic Tests: Specific drug levels (e.g., digoxin, lithium, theophylline) Heavy metal screening Cholinesterase activity (for organophosphate poisoning) Methemoglobin level  Interpretation of Laboratory Results Elevated anion gap: methanol, ethylene glycol, salicylates Elevated osmolar gap: alcohols, ethylene glycol Metabolic acidosis: various toxins (e.g., salicylates, methanol) Elevated liver enzymes: acetaminophen toxicity  Challenges in Toxicology Testing False positives and negatives in drug screens Timing of sample collection Limitations in detecting novel synthetic drugs Variability in laboratory cutoff values