Role of toxicology assessment in poisoning

Author(s):  
Albert Jaeger

Diagnosis of acute poisoning is based on history, symptoms, biomedical investigations, toxicological analyses, and sometimes therapeutic tests. Toxicological analytical methods are now widely available. A qualitative or semiquantitative analysis of the parent compound may be adequate for diagnostic assessment. A quantitative analysis is mandatory for kinetic studies. For instance, in ethylene glycol poisoning, analysis of ethylene glycol concentrations is useful for the diagnosis, but glycolate concentrations are more relevant for the evaluation of the severity and prognosis. Groups of symptoms (or toxidromes) may provide diagnostic clues for toxins that are not usually included in routine screening. The management of the poisoned patient is mostly supportive, but toxicological quantitative analyses are mandatory for some treatments, e.g. alkaline diuresis in salicylate poisoning, repeated activated charcoal in theophylline poisoning, haemodialysis, ethanol in ethylene glycol poisoning, or the use of chelating agents.

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 418-424
Author(s):  
Nicola Bates

The kidney has an essential role in maintaining normal physiological functions but it can be affected by various drugs and chemicals. A common seasonal cause of renal failure in cats is ingestion of antifreeze containing ethylene glycol. It is not the ethylene glycol itself which causes renal failure but toxic metabolites which result in deposition of calcium oxalate crystals in the renal tubules. Various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), particularly those used in human medicine such as ibuprofen, flurbiprofen and naproxen, cause renal effects through inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis which results in reduced renal blood flow and disruption of normal renal function and homeostatic mechanisms. For some common substances, such as lilies in cats and grapes and their dried fruit in dogs, kidney injury occurs through unknown mechanisms. Management of poison-induced kidney injury is supportive with monitoring and support of renal function. Although haemodialysis and other extracorporeal techniques can be used, they are rarely available in veterinary medicine and therefore preventive measures are used. This includes aggressive intravenous fluid therapy before onset of signs for lily and grape poisoning and early use of the antidote (ethanol) in ethylene glycol poisoning to prevent formation of toxic metabolites, allowing excretion of the parent compound. In most cases, once kidney injury is advanced, prognosis is poor.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin Vladimirovich Sivak ◽  
Mikhail Mikhailovich Lyubishin ◽  
Elena Yur’evna Kalinina

T The aim of the article. The aim of this study was to evaluation of the effectiveness of standard antidote therapy and dimephosphon administration in rats with acute ethylene glycol poisoning. The tasks of the study included modeling acute ethylene glycol poisoning in rats, conducting experimental therapy with ethanol antidote in combination with sodium bicarbonate and dimephosphon therapy, comparing the effectiveness of drugs in relation to indicators of acid-base state impairment and renal function. Materials and methods. Ethylene glycol (EG) was administered per os to Wistar male rats (190-210 g b.w.) at a single dose of 6 mL / kg b.w. through an atraumatic gastric tube. The animals were divided into 4 groups of 6 individuals each: intact (negative control), EG poisoning (positive control), EG + standard antidote therapy, EG + dimephosphon therapy. Experimental therapy was carried out for first 24 hours using standard antidote therapy: ethanol (30% solution 2 mL / kg b.w. i.p. after 1, 4, 6, 12, 18 hours) and sodium bicarbonate (4% solution 6 mL / kg b.w. i.p. 3 times on the first day), as well as administration of dimephosphon (150 mg / kg i.p. 3 times on the first day, 450 mg / kg b.w. per day). Daily urine on day 3 after poisoning was collected in metabolic cages. Creatinine concentration in urine and blood serum samples were measured, and creatinine clearance was calculated. After 24 hours of therapy, the pH, level of sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chlorides, bicarbonates, lactate, d-3-hydroxybutyrate, albumin, urea and creatinine (measured parameters) were determined in venous blood samples. Anion gap, ∆рН, ∆AG, ∆HCO3, ∆AG/∆HCO3 and ∆Gap were calculated. The mechanism of death was determined for the dead animals. Data processing was performed using GraphPad Prism 6.0. Results. Acute poisoning of rats with ethylene glycol leads to the development of toxic encephalopathy and nephropathy, acid-base abnormalities, high anion gap metabolic acidosis due to the presence of metabolites, as well as lactate-ketoacidosis due to depression of the central nervous system and hunger. 100% of the EG-treated (12 mL / kg b.w.) animals died within 3 days. Metabolic acidosis in combination with hypermagnesemia had provided a cardiodepressive effect, which with direct nephrotoxic and neurotoxic effects contributed to the development of a mixed variant of thanatogenesis and death. Death comes from toxic encephalopathy and nephropathy, high anion gap metabolic acidosis caused by direct nephrotoxic and neurotoxic effects of EG and its metabolites. The standard antidote therapy with ethanol in combination with sodium bicarbonate prevented a pH shift, lactic acidosis and ketoacidosis, an increase in urea, but did not affect the level of bicarbonate (p=0.048), creatinine and its clearance (p=0.037) and the anion gap (p=0.033). The dimephosphon therapy prevented a decrease in creatinine clearance and blood bicarbonate level, limited the increase in lactate dehydrogenase activity, had a more pronounced effect on the AG and ∆AG (p=0.042), but did not affect the hypocalcemia (p=0.0076) and hypoalbuminemia (p=0.021). Conclusion. Acute ethylene glycol poisoning leads to the development of a mixed variant of thanatogenesis with damage to the central nervous and urinary systems, as well as the heart. Autopsy and histopathology confirmed the cause of animal death. In the model at a dose of 6 mL / kg of EG the dimephosphon therapy was more conducive to the correction of the main markers of high anion gap metabolic acidosis (HAGMA) than standard antidote therapy (both measured and calculated, p0.05). The dimephosphon therapy prevented a decrease in creatinine clearance. A comparative analysis of two methods for the correction of high anion gap metabolic acidosis in rats in acute poisoning with ethylene glycol showed that dimephosphon therapy vs. standard antidote therapy had a stronger effect on markers of metabolic acidosis and renal impairment.


2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-65
Author(s):  
Viktoriya Vladimirovna Vorob’eva ◽  
Irina Viktorovna Zarubina ◽  
Petr Dmitrievich Shabanov ◽  
Sergei Nikolaevich Proshin

The analysis of the reasons for the children to the intensive care unit indicates that the poisoning is one of the most important cause of life-threatening conditions in childhood. The poisoning by drugs and ethanol dominates among other poisoning factors. Multiple drug poisoning is not so rare case as well as intentional self-poisoning among teenagers. It is dangerous not only toxigenic phase of poisoning by various chemical compounds but also their long-term effects. The symptoms of cerebroasthenia, minimal dysfunction of brain, vascular disorders, violation of thermoregulation, convulsions, visual impairment, hepatopathy, nephropathy, adrenal dysfunction are discussed as the effects of acute poisoning in children. Above-mentioned facts indicate the need to improve the toxicological assistance not only during resuscitation but also in a phase of long-term effects. The as early as possible elimination of the effects of acute poisoning leaves the possibility of development of the child according to age. The study of the general laws of chemical and biological interaction of poison with organs and tissues of animals in the experiment can detect adaptive and compensatory mechanisms to ensure stability of the basic functions of the organism to the damaging effects of xenobiotics. The study of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of exogenous chemical factors elucidates the target points to the impact of pharmacological agents. Taking into account that the mandatory pathogenetic component of the process of intoxication is hypoxia we used the ethylene glycol poisoning model to test direct antihypoxants 2 etiltiobenzimidazola hydrobromide (metaprot) and 5-ethoxy-2-etiltiobenzimidazol (etomerzol). Aim: to estimate antihypoxic and antioxidant effects of actoprotective substances as metaprot and etomerzol in the model of ethylene glycol poisoning.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Kreitzer ◽  
Opeolu Adeoye

Although alcohols share a common metabolic pathway, the toxicity of each is unique. This review discusses the common toxic alcohols, including ethanol, isopropanol, methanol, and ethylene glycol, and summarizes the principles of toxicity, immediate stabilization, diagnosis and definitive therapy, and disposition and outcome for each. A special consideration is also given to diethylene glycol due to its historical significance as a contaminant of multiple different drugs. Figures show type B lactic acidosis; the Mellanby effect; the role of thiamine in aerobic metabolism; the metabolism of isopropanol, methanol, formate, and ethylene glycol; and the relationship between the osmol gap and the anion gap over time. Tables list treatment recommendations for Wernicke encephalopathy, alcoholic ketoacidosis, and alcohol withdrawal; the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment–Alcohol Revised (CIWA-Ar); dosing recommendations for fomepizole and ethanol; serum alkalization; and indications for hemodialysis in ethylene glycol poisoning. This review contains 8 figures, 10 tables, and 54 references. Keywords: Poisoning, ethanol, isopropanol, ethylene glycol, methanol, fomepizole, withdrawal, Wernicke encephalopathy, alcohol dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Nicola Bates

The kidney has an essential role in maintaining normal physiological functions but it can be affected by various drugs and chemicals. A common seasonal cause of renal failure in cats is ingestion of antifreeze containing ethylene glycol. It is not the ethylene glycol itself which causes renal failure but toxic metabolites which result in deposition of calcium oxalate crystals in the renal tubules. Various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, particularly those used in human medicine such as ibuprofen, flurbiprofen and naproxen, cause renal effects through inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis which results in reduced renal blood flow and disruption of normal renal function and homeostatic mechanisms. For some common substances, such as lilies in cats and grapes and their dried fruit in dogs, kidney injury occurs through unknown mechanisms. Management of poison-induced kidney injury is supportive with monitoring and support of renal function. Although haemodialysis and other extracorporeal techniques can be used, they are rarely available in veterinary medicine and therefore preventive measures are used. This includes aggressive intravenous fluid therapy before onset of signs for lily and grape poisoning and early use of the antidote (ethanol) in ethylene glycol poisoning to prevent formation of toxic metabolites, allowing excretion of the parent compound. In most cases, once kidney injury is advanced, prognosis is poor.


2016 ◽  
pp. 89-95
Author(s):  
A. M. Kravchenko ◽  
E. G. Malayeva ◽  
I. A. Hudyakov ◽  
E. V. Tsitko ◽  
A. A. Dmitrienko ◽  
...  

Acute ethylene glycol poisoning is a topical medical and social problem. According to the statistics, ethylene glycol poisoning ranks second among intoxications with technical liquids. The availability of ethylene glycol and lack of public awareness about its poisonous properties is a condition for the occurrence of poisoning. The clinical picture of ethylene glycol intoxication is characterized by the development of three successive stages: the first stage - CNS depression (narcotic phase), the second stage - toxic lesions of the heart and the lungs, the third stage - toxic lesions of the liver, kidneys with the development of acute kidney failure, as well as metabolic acidosis. The article presents a case report of acute poisoning with ethylene glycol, gives the results of the diagnostic activities, the dynamics of the clinical manifestations and laboratory parameters, describes the treatment of the patient.


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