toxidromes

Importance: Use of xylazine in the United States as an adulterant for drugs of abuse has increased in recent years, thus it is important for health care providers to understand the basic pharmacology and toxidrome of the drug, as well as management options for patients who have overdosed. Observations: Data obtained from studies between 2006 and 2022 indicate a rapidly increasing incidence of xylazine overdose in the United States, with overdose cases now being seen in 25 states. Hallmark symptoms of xylazine overdose include respiratory depression, bradycardia, hyperglycemia, central nervous system depression, and initial hypertension turning to unstable blood pressure...

Management of patients who are acutely intoxicated with methamphetamine (a member of the substituted amphetamine class of drugs) can be resource-intensive for most emergency departments. Clinical presentations of the methamphetamine sympathomimetic toxidrome range from mild agitation to rhabdomyolysis, acute kidney injury, seizures, and intracranial hemorrhage. High-quality evidence on how to best manage these patients is lacking, and most research focuses on symptomatic interventions to control patients' agitation and hemodynamics...

Drug overdose can lead to a range of symptoms, including potentially life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. However, identifying the specific causative drug upon admission can be challenging in many cases. The toxidrome approach is a method that utilizes toxidromes, which are collections of findings obtained from physical examination and ancillary tests, that may be caused by a specific toxin. In this particular case, a man presented with an unknown drug overdose that caused symptoms indicative of anticholinergic effects and abnormal electrocardiogram (ECG) findings...

Organophosphate (OP) poisoning can trigger cholinergic crisis, a life-threatening toxidrome that includes seizures and status epilepticus (SE). These acute toxic responses are associated with persistent neuroinflammation and spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS), also known as acquired epilepsy. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) impairment has recently been proposed as a pathogenic mechanism linking acute OP intoxication to chronic adverse neurological outcomes. In this review, we briefly describe the cellular and molecular components of the BBB, review evidence of altered BBB integrity following acute OP intoxication, and discuss potential mechanisms by which acute OP intoxication may promote BBB dysfunction...

Patients with brain death have by definition irreversible and complete loss of brainstem reflexes. Before a definite diagnosis of brain death can be confirmed, all potential confounders must be thoroughly excluded. Baclofen intoxication is a rare cause of brain death mimic characterised by transient deep coma and absence of brainstem reflexes and might be mistaken with brain death. We report the case of a female patient in her 70s who ingested baclofen with suicidal intent and was admitted with a deep coma and loss of all brainstem reflexes and a spontaneous burst-suppression pattern in the electroencephalography which resolved over 10 hours...

INTRODUCTION: Controversy exists with regard to risk of secondary exposure of health care workers caring for patients who have ingested an organophosphate insecticide. We aim to report clinical effects of staff members caring for an organophosphate poisoned patient. INCIDENT: A 76-year-old male presented to the Emergency Department exhibiting a cholinergic toxidrome requiring atropine, intubation and mechanical ventilation. METHODS: We undertook a retrospective chart review of any Emergency Department presentations for medical assessment in relation to the incident and conducted telephone interviews of any healthcare workers who did not present but were deemed to be closely involved with patient care...

PURPOSE/BACKGROUND: Phenibut (4-amino-3-phenyl-butyric acid) is a structural analog of GABA with central nervous system depressant and anxiolytic properties, developed in the former Soviet Union for anxiety, insomnia, and alcohol withdrawal. Its primary mechanism of action is believed to be a GABA-B receptor agonist-with high affinity at the α2δ subunit-containing voltage-dependent calcium channels and therefore gabapentinoid activity-as well as, to a lesser extent, GABA-A agonist activity...

Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that has been used as an alternative for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19 infection. The adverse effects from supratherapeutic doses of ivermectin can include non-neurological and neurological symptoms. In this study, we report the case of a 52-year-old Filipino male with newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus who developed a subacute history of fever, cough, and generalized weakness, causing him to self-medicate with supratherapeutic doses of ivermectin and thereafter subsequently developed a decrease in sensorium, restlessness, and complex visual hallucinations...

INTRODUCTION: Jimson weed is a poisonous plant containing tropane alkaloids that can cause anticholinergic toxicity. Recognition of anticholinergic toxidrome is important for prevention and management of potentially life-threatening complications of severe toxicity, including dysrhythmia and seizure. METHODS: Designed for pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) fellows, this simulation featured a 15-year-old female presenting to the emergency department (ED) with agitation and hallucinations...

AUDIENCE: Emergency medicine residents, internal medicine residents, family medicine residents, community physicians, pediatricians, toxicology fellows. INTRODUCTION: There are over 600 compounds which contain anticholinergic properties.1 Medications with anticholinergic properties include antihistamines, atropine, tricyclic antidepressants, antipsychotics, topical mydriatics, antispasmodics, sleep aids, and cold preparations. 1-4 Plants that possess anticholinergic properties such as jimson weed, and street drugs cut with anticholinergics such as scopolamine are sources of accidental or intentional ingestion...

We report an uncommon case of cholinergic poisoning following an ingestion of wild mushrooms. Two middle-aged patients presented to the emergency unit with acute gastrointestinal symptoms including epigastric pain, vomiting and diarrhea, followed by miosis, palpitations and diaphoresis which were compatible with a cholinergic toxidrome. The patients volunteered a history of taking two tablespoons of cooked wild mushrooms collected in a country park. Mildly elevated liver transaminase was noted in one female patient...

INTRODUCTION: Community programs to teach nonmedical laypeople how to recognize an opioid overdose and effectively resuscitate the victim using naloxone have proliferated recently as a significant component of harm-reduction efforts. Although many such programs target laypeople like first responders or friends and family members of people who use drugs, there are currently no programs that specifically target addiction counselors, despite their work with a client population at high risk of an opioid overdose...

UNLABELLED: The constantly high incidence of urinary system pathology in children, in which the pyelonephritis plays a leading role, requires to search the new approaches to the comprehensive medical rehabilitation of children, suffering from chronic pyelonephritis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of comprehensive medical rehabilitation of children with chronic pyelonephritis, that includes lessons in «School of Health: social and psychological rehabilitation of children with renal disease» (thereafter - «School of Health»)...

OBJECTIVE: This article informs and updates the practicing neurologist on the current landscape of known neurologic injuries linked to the use of illicit drugs, focusing on emerging agents. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and similar derivatives have exploded in prevalence, becoming the leading cause of overdose fatalities. The higher potency of synthetic opioids compared with semisynthetic and nonsynthetic opiates poses an increased risk for unintentional overdose when found as an adulterant in other illicit drug supplies such as heroin...

Serotonin syndrome (SS) is a potentially fatal adverse drug reaction characterized by an exaggerated increase in serotonergic activity in the central and peripheral nervous systems. It presents a constellation of signs and symptoms related to behavioral changes, neuromuscular excitability, and autonomic instability. These symptoms can occur in both mild and severe forms. SS can be triggered by the therapeutic use of a drug that increases serotonin (5-HT) availability in the synaptic cleft or by the co-administration of two or more drugs that provide this increase...

OBJECTIVE: As a result of recent legislative changes allowing for increased access to marijuana products, there have been increasing rates of cannabis abuse among adolescents and subsequent diagnoses of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS). Most available literature on this syndrome exists within the adult population and describes benzodiazepines, haloperidol, and topical capsaicin as potentially efficacious in the management of CHS. The objectives of this study were to identify antiemetics and compare their efficacy and safety in the management of pediatric CHS...

BACKGROUND Lyme disease is a common tickborne disease with a common presentation. Untreated Lyme disease can affect other organs. This can lead to anion gap metabolic acidosis through severe renal failure. Unlike anion gap metabolic acidosis, osmolar gap can be caused by ingestion of ethanol, toxic alcohols, solvents, and salicylates. Therefore, a presentation with osmolar gap and anion gap metabolic acidosis yields a variety of differential diagnoses. CASE REPORT A 72-year-old man presented after being found down...

COVID-19 has been associated with an increased risk of both atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. Brugada syndrome (BrS), an inherited sodium channelopathy presenting with a characteristic ECG morphology, confers a baseline risk of ventricular arrhythmias such as ventricular fibrillation (VF), especially during febrile illnesses. However, mimics of BrS, termed Brugada phenocopies (BrP), have been noted in association with fever, electrolyte abnormalities, and toxidromes outside of viral illness. Such presentations manifest the same ECG pattern, the type-I Brugada pattern (type-I BP)...

Lithium induced cardiotoxicity is associated with several electrocardiographic (ECG) findings. The most commonly observed cardiac effects include QT prolongation, Twave abnormalities, and to lesser extent SA node dysfunction and ventricular arrythmias. We present a case of a 13-year-old female with acute lithium overdose whodeveloped Mobitz I, a manifestation of lithium associated cardiotoxity not previously reported. The patient had no significant past medical history and presented to the emergency department 1 h after intentional overdose of 10 tablets of unknown drug...

The large amounts of opioids and the emergence of increasingly potent illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids circulating in the unregulated drug supply in North America and Europe are fueling not only the ongoing public health crisis of overdose deaths but also raise the risk of another type of disaster: deliberate opioid release with the intention to cause mass harm. Synthetic opioids are highly potent, rapidly acting, can cause fatal ventilatory depression, are widely available, and have the potential to be disseminated for mass exposure, for example, if effectively formulated, via inhalation or ingestion...