The abuse of which common office supply substance can result in syncope and the EKG findings shown?
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unravel, the role of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in the treatment of patients with this disease has been a major focus of discussion on the news and social media. Despite the lack of good data supporting its use in the clinical setting, there have been numerous reports of individual consumption of HCQ resulting in accidental overdose and even death. It is therefore important to recognize and manage patients who may present with HCQ toxicity.
What life-threatening symptoms can result from the ingestion of this plant?
A 25-year-old woman is brought into the emergency department by friends due to “acting weird.” She was at a rave and is reported to have consumed alcohol, marijuana, and ecstasy. On exam, she is afebrile, tachycardic, normotensive, and breathing comfortably on room air. She is lethargic, mumbling incomprehensibly, and does not follow commands. Her glucose is 115 mg/dL, her pregnancy test is negative, her EKG reveals sinus tachycardia, her ethanol level is 30 mg/dL, and a stat CT head is negative. Her chemistry panel reveals a sodium level of 114 mEq/L. You order a 100 mL 3% sodium chloride bolus, but it may take 30 minutes to arrive from the central pharmacy. At this point, the nurse informs you that the patient is seizing.
Inadvertent contact with this aquatic species causes excruciating pain and an overwhelming sense of impending doom. What is this?
A child presents with tachypnea, tachycardia, and drooling after ingesting the sweet smelling contents of the pictured household item. What toxin could explain this presentation?
Welcome to the AIR Toxicology Module! After carefully reviewing all relevant posts from the top 50 sites of the Social Media Index, the ALiEM AIR Team is proud to present the highest quality online content related to toxicology emergencies. 11 blog posts within the past 12 months (as of March 2020) met our standard of online excellence and were curated and approved for residency training by the AIR Series Board. We identified 1 AIR and 10 Honorable Mentions. We recommend programs give 5.5 hours (about 30 minutes per article) of III credit for this module.