Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review to investigate the socio-economic benefits of the poison control center (PCC) and to assess whether telephone counseling at the poison control center affects the frequency of emergency room visits, hospitalization, and length of stay of patients with acute poisoning. Methods: The authors conducted a medical literature search of the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases. Two reviewers evaluated the abstracts for eligibility, extracted the data, and assessed the study quality using a standardized tool. Key results such as the cost-benefit ratio, hospital stay days, unnecessary emergency room visits or hospitalizations, and reduced hospital charges were extracted from the studies. When meta-analysis was possible, it was performed using RevMan software (RevMan version 5.4). Results: Among 299 non-duplicated studies, 19 were relevant to the study questions. The cost-benefit ratios of PCC showed a wide range from 0.76 to 36 (average 6.8) according to the level of the medical expense of each country and whether the study included intentional poisoning. PCC reduced unnecessary visits to healthcare facilities. PCC consultation shortened the length of hospital stay by 1.82 (95% CI, 1.07-2.57) days. Conclusion: The systematic review and meta-analysis support the hypothesis that the PCC operation is cost-beneficial. However, when implementing the PCC concept in Korea in the future, it is necessary to prepare an institutional framework to ensure a costeffective model.
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2022 Annual Report of the Seoul Poison Control Center Yo Han Shin, Sijin Lee, Su Jin Kim, Young Hoon Yoon, Sung Woo Lee Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology.2023; 21(1): 39. CrossRef
Purpose: Acute nicotine poisoning by liquid nicotine in electronic cigarettes is becoming an increasing problem worldwide. The current systematic review aimed to determine the harm of acute nicotine poisoning by reviewing published case reports. Methods: An online literature search with PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed database was performed to identify relevant studies addressing acute nicotine poisoning with electronic cigarettes. Two investigators searched the case reports written in English or Korean. Results: Twenty-six cases were included in this study. The routes of intoxication included ingestion in 18 cases, intravenous injection in three cases, subcutaneous injection in two cases, and ocular exposure in two cases. Ten cases had a cardiac arrest, and seven of them died. Seven out of 12 cases with intentional poisoning had a cardiac arrest. Nine children under 18 years were reported, and three of them had a cardiac arrest. Sixteen cases without a cardiac arrest recovered well, except for one case with sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Conclusion: The authors reviewed the risks of electronic cigarette liquid in terms of acute poisoning through a systematic review. The nicotine solution of an e-cigarette can be life-threatening in cases of acute poisoning. Therefore, active emergency treatment with early recognition is necessary. In addition, various management methods and regulations for preventing acute nicotine poisoning, such as restriction of distribution and nicotine concentration, should be considered.
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Electronic Nicotine, Non-Nicotine Delivery Systems, and Liquid Use by Flavoring and Nicotine Concentrations Yeun Soo Yang, Hyeon Jeong Lim, Unchong Kim, Kyoungin Na, Heejin Kimm Journal of the Korean Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.2023; 14(3): 101. CrossRef
Pharmaceutical agents are the most common causes of poisoning in Korea. Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are commonly used in Korea for the management of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, but are associated with a risk of mortality due to overdose. Due to the frequent fatalities associated with CCB overdose, it is essential that the emergency physician is capable of identifying CCB intoxication, and has the knowledge to manage CCB overdose. This article reviews the existing clinical guidelines, retrospective studies, and systematic reviews on the emergency management of CCB overdose. The following are the varied treatments of CCB overdose currently administered. 1) For asymptomatic patients: observation with enough time and decontamination, if indicated. 2) For symptomatic patients: infusion of calcium salt, high dose insulin therapy, and vasopressor (norepinephrine) or atropine for bradycardia. 3) For patients refractory to the first line therapy or with refractory shock or impending arrest: lipid emulsion therapy and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. 4) As adjunct therapy: phosphodiesterase inhibitors, glucagon, methylene blue, pacemaker for AV block. Small CCB ingestion is known to be fatal for pediatric patients. Hence, close observation for sufficient time is required.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of vitamin B12 treatment in subacute combined degeneration (SCD) caused by nitrous oxide (N2O) abuse. Methods: Relevant literature was accessed through PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and KoreaMed. All the literature that was relevant to human use of vitamin B12 treatment for SCD caused by N2O abuse was included. Case reports were excluded if the treatment regimens were not precisely described. The literature search was conducted by two investigators during September 2019 for the final publication period. The languages of the publications were restricted to English and Korean. Results: Twenty-three published articles that contained 24 cases were included. Sixteen cases among them were treated with intramuscular vitamin B12 of 1 mg/day and the rest received different doses or routes. Although most cases described significant clinical improvements, one case showed no beneficial effect due to the patient's noncooperation. Another case showed adverse events, including spinal myoclonus, following vitamin B12 therapy. Conclusion: Vitamin B12 has been broadly used for the treatment of SCD caused by N2O abuse. However, most of the relevant studies were case reports that reported various regimens of vitamin B12 administration. Further studies are needed to establish a standard regimen of vitamin B12 because the incidence of N2O abuse may increase in South Korea.
Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical efficacy of pharmacologic treatment of amatoxin poisoning patients. Methods: Literature was accessed through PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, KoreaMed, KISS and KMBASE. Studies relevant to human use of pharmacologic therapy including silymarin, penicillin and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for amanita poisoning were included. Case reports, letters, editorials and papers with insufficient information were excluded. Comparison of clinical outcomes (especially mortality and liver transplantation rate) in each study was analyzed. Results: The final analysis included 13 retrospective studies. None of these studies showed direct comparisons of individual agents. Among 12 studies comparing silymarin vs penicillin, eight showed clinical superiority of silymarin. Among eight studies comparing silymarin with NAC, six showed clinical superiority of silymarin. Among seven studies of NAC vs penicillin, five showed clinical superiority of NAC. Conclusion: This systematic review suggested that clinical superiority of various pharmacological agents used to treat amatoxin poisoning is debatable. Nevertheless, the available evidence suggests it is reasonable to consider combinations of multiple agents for patients with amanita poisoning. Further studies are required to establish a treatment regimen for amanita poisoning.
Purpose: Extracorporeal life support (ECLS) is a term used to describe a number of modalities including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to support cardiac and/or pulmonary systems. The purpose of this study is to review the available evidence regarding the effect of ECLS in patients with acute poisoning. Methods: Electronic literature searches with PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, and KoreaMed were conducted for identification of relevant studies addressing ECLS in treatment of acute poisoning. The literature search was conducted by two investigators in March, 2016 with publication language restricted to English and Korean. The toxic substance, technique of ECLS, and final outcome of each case were analyzed. Results: The final analysis included 64 articles including 55 case reports. There were no articles classified according to a high level of evidence such as randomized trial and prospective cohort study. ECLS treatment was used in the management of patients poisoned with 36 unique substances. Venovenous ECMO was performed in 4 cases. Among the reported cases, 10 patients died despite treatment with ECLS. Conclusion: Evidence supporting ECLS for patients with acute poisoning is inadequate. However, many case reports suggest that early consideration of ECLS in poisoned patients with refractory cardiac arrest or hemodynamic compromise refractory to standard therapies may be beneficial.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and the adverse events of high dose insulin/euglycemia therapy in acute calcium channel blocker (CCB) poisoning. Methods: We developed a systematic search strategy and applied it to 4 electronic reference databases. We searched medical journals as well as the bibliographies of relevant articles. All forms of literature relevant to human use of high dose insulin for acute CCB poisoning were included. The literature search was conducted by two investigators in August, 2015 with publication language restricted to English and Korean. Case reports were divided between CCB overdose alone and multi-drug overdose including CCB. The effect and adverse event of high dose insulin and clinical outcome of each case were analyzed. Results: Among 55 searched studies, 20 studies were included. A prospective study, a retrospective study, a systematic review study, and 17 case reports were identified. Case reports consisted of 11 CCB alone and 12 multidrug overdose cases including CCB. Although most cases described significant clinical improvements, one of them showed no beneficial effect. Several adverse events including hypoglycemia and hypokalemia were reported. No significant sequalae from adverse events was reported. Conclusion: Although there were many case reports demonstrating successful use of high dose insulin for CCB poisoning, the effect cannot be estimated due to a possibility of publication bias. Therefore, high dose insulin/euglycemia therapy might be considered adjunctive therapy in cases of CCB intoxication refractory for standard therapy.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of intravenous lipid emulsion as well as adverse events in acute poisoning patients. Methods: Literature was accessed through PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, Web of science, and KoreaMed. All forms of literatures relevant to human use of intravenous lipid emulsion for acute poisoning were included. Cases reports or letters without description of clinical outcomes for each case were excluded. The literature search was conducted by two investigators in March, 2015, with publication language restricted to English and Korean. The effect, onset time, and adverse event of lipid emulsion and final outcome of each case were analyzed. Results: Eighty-one published articles were included, excluding articles whose title and abstract were not relevant to this study. No articles were classified as high level of evidence. Sixty-eight case reports were identified, consisting of 25 local anesthetics and 43 other drugs, such as tricyclic antidepressants and calcium channel blockers. Although most cases described significant clinical improvements, some of them showed no beneficial effect or worsening of clinical course. Several adverse events including hyperamylasemia and laboratory interference were reported. Conclusion: Although there were many case reports illustrating successful use of lipid for various drug poisonings, the effect cannot be estimated due to significant possibility of publication bias. Therefore, lipids might be considered in severe hemodynamic instability resulting from lipophilic drug poisoning, however further studies should follow to establish the use of lipid as the standard of care.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to review the evidence comparing the efficacy and safety between L-carnitine and extracorporeal elimination therapy in the management of acute valproic acid L-carnitine vs Extracorporeal Elimination for Acute Valproic acid Intoxication Methods: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, Web of Science, KoreaMed, KMbase, and KISS were searched, using the terms carnitine and valproic acid. All studies, regardless of design, reporting efficacy or safety endpoints were included. Reference citations from identified publications were reviewed. Both English and Korean languages were included. Two authors extracted primary data elements including poisoning severity, presenting features, clinical management, and outcomes. Results: Thirty two articles including 33 cases were identified. Poisoning severity was classified as 3 mild, 11 moderate, and 19 severe cases. Nine cases were treated with L-carnitine while 24 cases received extracorporeal therapy without L-carnitine. All patients except one expired patient treated with hemodialysis recovered clinically and no adverse effects were noted. A case report comparing two patients who ingested the same amount of valproic acid showed increased ICU stay (3 vs 11 days) in case of delayed extracorporeal therapy. Conclusion: Published evidence comparing L-carnitine with extracorporeal therapy is limited. Based on the available evidence, it is reasonable to consider L-carnitine for patients with acute valproic acid overdose. In case of severe poisoning, extracorporeal therapy would also be considered in the early phase of treatment.
Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence regarding injury and poisoning associated with the clinical mercury thermometer. Methods: Electronic literature searches were conducted for identification of relevant studies and case reports of injury and poisoning associated with the clinical mercury thermometer. The search outcomes were limited to literature with English and Korean languages published from 1966. Studies related to occupational mercury exposure, or mercury exposure from sphygmomanometer, barometer, and fluorescent light were excluded. Results: A total of 60 reports, including 59 case reports, were finally included. Of those, nine cases pertained to an intact thermometer as a foreign body, 25 injuries were related to a thermometer, and 26 cases involved exposures to mercury from a broken thermometer. Case reports were classified according to severity into 16 mild, 41 moderate, and two severe cases. Two cases of mortality were reported, one was deliberate intravenous injection of mercury and the other was acute vapor inhalation of mercury from broken thermometers. Conclusion: Findings of this systematic review suggested that the mercury thermometer could cause various forms of poisoning and injury. In particular, inhalation of mercury vapor from a broken thermometer can lead to systemic toxicity requiring chelating therapy.