Transcript Poison Control Centers & Toxicosurveillance

Muneera AL-Whaibi
Goal
 Provision of prompt and accurate poison information to those who access the
service.
 Provision of drug information to facilitate health professionals in better
management of their patients.
 Education of the public in the areas of poisoning prevention and first aid.
 Education of health care professionals in the areas of clinical toxicology, poisoning
epidemiology, poisoning prevention, toxicological diagnosis and care.
 Develop effective telecommunications and information technology systems to
deliver dependable treatment recommendations.
EXPECTED RESPONSE TIMES
 Depending on the complexity of the information required
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the estimated turnaround times for complete information
are as follows:
80% within 15 minutes
10% within 1 hour
5% within 1 to 24 hours
5% more than 24 hours
DRUG INFORMATION SERVICES
 Drug identification (including overseas drugs)
 Choice of drug therapy
 Drug dosing and adjustments in children, the elderly, and patients with
impaired renal or hepatic function
 Drug allergy
 Drug safety in pregnancy and breast-feeding
 Side effects and adverse reactions of drugs, traditional medicine and health
supplements
 Drug interactions with other drugs, food and traditional medicine
 Intravenous compatibilities
 Drug Alerts
POISON INFORMATION SERVICES
 Signs and symptoms of toxic exposures to specific poisons
1) Overdoses with medications
2) Exposure to household chemicals, cosmetics
3) Herbals, traditional medicines and dietary supplements
4) Industrial chemicals exposure
5) Bites and stings from venomous creatures
6) Toxic plants
 First aid advice on management of toxic exposures
 Advice on detailed medical management of poisonings
 Poison prevention information
Data Collection
 Examples of types of data:
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patient age
substances involved
route of exposure
reason for the exposure
location of the event
clinical effects
treatment level and site of care
medical outcome
Baseline Knowledge for handling
Medicines Calls
Adverse Drug Reactions - at risk patient groups
 Pregnancy
 Breastfeeding
 Infants/children
 Elderly
 Patients on ‘high
risk’ medicines
 Renal problems
 Liver problems
Aim
To enable all staff
answering Medicines,
Poisons and Pharmacy
calls to work within
role competencies and
fulfil them safely,
reliably and effectively
in this area of care.