Question Of The Day

Why do pharmacobezoars form? The formation of a pharmacobezoar is multifactorial. Pharmacobezoars are likely to form following acute ingestions of a large amount of pills. Certain populations are prone to pharmacobezoars, including those with decreased intestinal motility, diminished gastric secretion, and autonomic dysfunction. Extended release…

Historical QOD 1/15/09: Describe the potential long-term effects related to significant carbon monoxide exposure. Patients with significant exposure to carbon monoxide may be at risk for delayed neurologic sequelae including cognitive impairment, dementia, amnesia, psychosis, paralysis, cortical blindness, and peripheral neuropathy, Parkinsonism, and chorea. In…

In the NEAR registry, Is successful first-pass intubation more common in overdose patients or non-overdose patients? There is no statistically significant difference in successful first-pass intubation between overdose and non-overdose patients, though overdose patients do not experience adverse peri-intubation events (such as hypotension, tachydysrrhythmias, etc.)…

What ingredient in the pictured energy drink causes paresthesias? Beta-alanine. This amino acid is mediated through the MrgprD receptor found in the skin, and is not histamine dependent Liu Q, Sikand P, Ma C, Tang Z, Han L, Li Z, Sun S, LaMotte RH, Dong…

What adverse event led to a 2022 recall of French Lentil & Leek Crumbles (from Daily Harvest)? What ingredient likely included the causative agents? Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) — particularly with high ALT activity leading to 393 reports to FDA (including 133 hospitalizations). Tara flour…

According to the 2008 article ‘GC-MS Confirmation of Xylazine, A Veterinary Sedative, In Exchange Needles’, what co-presenting drug combination was found most frequently in exchanged syringes tested for xylazine in Puerto Rico? “Speedball” or a heroin/cocaine mixture was found in 90.6% of syringes tested in…

Historical QOD 1/14/09: True or False: All medications causing QT interval prolongation place patients at higher risk for torsades de pointes? False. While this statement is true in most instances, some medications may increase the QT interval but are not generally associated with torsades. Examples…

When patients who inject drugs are hospitalized for a bacterial infection, which hospital day are they most likely to leave against medical advice? Day 1, potentially due to under-treated pain or withdrawal. Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Hospitalizations for Infections Related to Injection Drug Use,…

What condition is a risk factor for acetaminophen toxicity from repeated supratherapeutic ingestion (RSTI)? Dental pain. Authors compared dental pain, musculoskeletal back pain, fever, headache, and other reasons for taking acetaminophen. Only dental pain disproportionately correlated with RSTI leading to acetaminophen toxicity. Compared to the…

Some studies have shown that slowing the infusion rate of the loading dose of N-acetylcysteine has decreased the rate of anaphylactoid reactions. By what mechanism does acetaminophen decrease the incidence of anaphylactoid reaction? Unlike anaphylaxis, anaphylactoid reactions are non-IgE mediated reactions driven by histamine release…