Question Of The Day

Which parts of the yew plant are toxic? The leaves, seeds, and bark (excluding the red pulp) are poisonous and have active toxic metabolites. Alarfaj M, Goswami A. Cardiotoxicity in yew berry poisoning. Am J Emerg Med. 2021 Dec;50:812.e1-812.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2021.05.043. Epub 2021 May 18….

Historical QOD 3/24/09: Which herbal medications may be associated with the development of hyperkalemia? Noni juice, alfalfa, dandelion, horsetail, nettle, milkweed, and hawthorne berries. (J Intensive Care Med, 2005 Sep 1, 20(5):272-290)

Sixty-one infants were divided into three groups in a blinded crossover trial, and each group received one of three eyedrops (cyclopentolate, phenylephrine, or tropicamide) for the purpose of dilating the pupil for an exam.  Each infant was seen on two different occasions and were either…

A randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in Africa to evaluate the treatment of patients with aluminum phosphide poisoning. All patients received standard treatment, including primary resuscitation (airway, breathing, and circulation), intravenous fluids, vasopressors (norepinephrine), gastric decontamination (with sodium bicarbonate and activated charcoal at a…

A single center, retrospective cohort study of paracetamol ingestion was conducted in an institution that implemented a medical toxicology service. What was the difference in length of stay before the implementation of the toxicology service compared to after? The pre-toxicology service cohort had an average…

Social media challenges involving ingestion of diphenhydramine, laundry pods, nutmeg and cinnamon were associated with increases of reported ingestions to America’s Poison Centers National Poison Data System (NPDS). How long after Google Trends showed a peak did the number of reported ingestions with suicidal intent…

Historical QOD 3/23/09:  What pharmacologically based public-health measure may reduce the risk of arsenic-induced skin lesions in countries (such as Bangladesh) with high concentrations of arsenic in well water? B vitamins and antioxidants. (Environ Health Perspect, 2008 Aug, 116(8):1056-1062)

Cases reported to the Toxicology Investigators Consortium between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2022 were assessed to determine the assiciation with prolonged QRS (>120 ms) and development of seizure, metabolic acidosis, or ventricular dysrhythmia after intoxication with several substances. In patients with nortriptyline ingestion,…

Part of the Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement and Drug Recognition Evaluator assessment (from the International Association of Chiefs of Police) for cannabis intoxication includes looking for eyelid tremor during the modified Romberg test. In a cohort study of cannabis users vs non-users, was eyelid…

Comparing the new-Poisoning Mortality Score and the Modified Early Warning Score for predicting mortality in patients with acute toxicity, which system was more accurate in a large Korean study? The new- Poisoning Mortality Score was more senstive (0.863 vs 0.667), specific (0.912 vs 0.817) and…