Ascendency of the Black Bottle (Activated Charcoal)

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 80 (6) ◽  
pp. 949-951
Author(s):  
JOSEPH GREENSHER ◽  
HOWARD C. MOFENSON ◽  
THOMAS R. CARACCIO
Keyword(s):  
American Academy ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Activated Charcoal ◽  
Poison Control ◽  
Poison Control Centers ◽  
Recent Letter ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Significant Change ◽  
Gastrointestinal Decontamination

Previous well-established guidelines for the management of poisonous ingestions in children are undergoing significant change. The time-honored practice of syrup of ipecac-induced vomiting as the primary means of gastrointestinal decontamination now frequently yields to the administration of activated charcoal. Practitioners and emergency room physicians who are increasingly relying on advice from and participation in treatment by regional poison control centers need to understand the rationale behind what many consider contradictions to accepted teaching. A case in point was a recent letter to the American Academy of Pediatrics from a pediatrician questioning the treatment of an ingestion of poison in a toddler.

NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-338
Keyword(s):  
American Academy ◽  
Annual Meeting ◽  
American Association ◽  
Poison Control ◽  
Special Aspect ◽  
Poison Control Centers ◽  
Children's Hospital ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics ◽  
Children’S Hospital

The fourth annual meeting of the American Association of Poison Control Centers will take place October 3, 1961, in the Wabash Parlor of the Palmer House, Chicago, Illinois, during the meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Papers are solicited for presentation at this meeting. There is no particular limitation as to the type of paper to be presented at this meeting, except that it deal with a general or special aspect of toxicology, or other aspects of poisoning or poison control. It is requested that the abstract for each paper be sent to Harry C. Shirkey, M.D., The Children's Hospital, Birmingham 5, Alabama, on or before August 1.

SURVEY OF POISON CONTROL CENTERS

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-364
Author(s):  
Howard M. Cann ◽  
Henry L. Verhulst ◽  
Dorothy S. Neyman
Keyword(s):  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Accidental Poisoning ◽  
Poison Control ◽  
Emergency Rooms ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Control Center ◽  
Poison Control Centers ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Followup Studies

As of April, 1958, there were 124 poison control centers in 40 states and territories. The results of a study of the operations of 102 of these centers are presented. Coordination of activities of poison control centers is desirable, especially where more than one center serve the same area. The American Academy of Pediatrics has led the way in establishing centers all over the country. Increasing numbers of state and local departments of health and medical schools are participating in control of poisonings and strengthening the movement for development of poison control centers. Poison control centers give information concerning toxicity of a variety of products and substances. Many also maintain facilities for treatment of poisoning, but emergency rooms of all hospitals should be equipped to give proper treatment for poisoning. Prevention of accidental poisoning is the best "treatment" for this "disease." Followup studies of patients will uncover significant causal factors and enable effective preventive measures to be instituted. All physicians are encouraged to learn the location and utilize the services of the nearest poison control center.

Hazards of Baby Powder

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 546-547
Author(s):  
HOWARD C. MOFENSON ◽  
THOMAS R. CARACCIO ◽  
SHARON OKUN ◽  
JOSEPH GREENSHER
Keyword(s):  
American Academy ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
Progressive Decrease ◽  
Recent Letter ◽  
Data Table ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics ◽  
Letter To The Editor ◽  
Community Population ◽  
Ventilator Therapy

To the Editor.— In a recent letter to the editor, Cotton and Davidson1 have brought the hazards of baby powder aspiration to the attention of the medical community. We have been monitoring episodes of possible powder inhalation and ingestion in our community (population 3 million) since 1980, when two infants were hospitalized [See table in the PDF file] for powder aspiration and one required ventilator therapy for two days. Our recent data (Table) shows a progressive decrease in the number of possible inhalations and ingestion episodes since 1981 when our article2 was published in Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatrics publicized the hazard of baby powder.

Physician Reimbursement

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-282
Author(s):  
GEORGE J. COHEN
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
American Academy ◽  
Emergency Room ◽  
Cost Control ◽  
Emergency Room Visits ◽  
Physician Reimbursement ◽  
American Academy Of Pediatrics

To the Editor.— In the excellent study of physician reimbursement by Hickson et al (Pediatrics 1987;80:344-350), there seems to be an implication that more health care visits than stated in the American Academy of Pediatrics' guidelines constitute excessive cost and perhaps unnecessary patient-doctor interaction. The suggestion that limiting compensation to just the visits in the guidelines might be a technique of cost control is really self-defeating. The authors have already demonstrated that more well-child visits decrease the number of emergency room visits, which are far more expensive.

scholarly journals Evaluatıon of Basal Metabolıc Panels in Drug Poısonıng Who Applıed Wıth Actıvated Charcoal

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Activated Charcoal ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Active Charcoal ◽  
Reference Ranges ◽  
Chronic Medication ◽  
Significant Change ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Gastrointestinal Decontamination

Introduction: Poisoning is the hindering of the bodily functions of the organism after it encounters a toxic factor. Poisoning may be the result of suicide attempts, overdose, or adverse effects. Some of these patients require gastrointestinal decontamination. The most commonly used material for this is activated charcoal. Activated charcoal may cause side-effects in the human body. Purpose: This study examines the effects of active charcoal on the basic metabolic panel when used on patients for any reason. Material and Method: This is a retrospective, single-center, and observational study. The subjects of the study are patients that were admitted to the emergency room between 01.01.2012 and 30.07.2017 with various cases of poisoning, and who underwent activated charcoal treatment. The ingested drugs were classified according to their active substances. The patients were evaluated with regard to their age, gender, vital findings, chronic diseases, chronic medication, whether they were referred from external centres, and whether or not they received active charcoal. Results: The changes in patients' levels of pCO2, Na, Ca, BUN, creatinine and blood glucose were found to be statistically significant. However, since all the obtained values were within reference ranges, the difference was not considered to be clinically significant. No significant change was observed in blood pH, K and Mg concentrations. Conclusion: This study is a first in the literature to indicate that there is no clinically significant change in the basic metabolic panels of patients who received active charcoal treatment. This study has shown that active charcoal treatment can be applied to patients with chronic diseases.

Management of Acute Poisoning With Activated Charcoal

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 324-329
Author(s):  
Donald G. Corby ◽  
Walter J. Decker
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Room ◽  
Activated Charcoal ◽  
First Aid ◽  
Acute Poisoning ◽  
Complexing Agent ◽  
Valuable Adjunct ◽  
Repeated Doses ◽  
Clinical Illness ◽  
Gastrointestinal Decontamination

Activated charcoal has been shown to be an effective complexing agent for many drugs. The quantitative in vivo evidence accumulated thus far indicates that this agent can be a very valuable adjunct in the initial phases of treating acute ingestions not only in the emergency room but also as a first aid measure in the home. It is well tolerated in extremely high single doses, and there is no known contraindication to its use in treatment of acute drug ingestion. It is immediately effective upon ingestion and can be given safely by nonprofessionals; hence, its inclusion in household first-aid supplies is warranted. In the emergency room, activated charcoal can be administered by lavage tube to an unconscious patient in large and repeated doses and can be continued throughout the acute phase of the clinical illness. The effectiveness of activated charcoal can be enhanced by emesis induced by apomorphine before or after charcoal administration. Since charcoal effectively adsorbs ipecac, syrup of ipecac should be given before the activated charcoal. Although it is not uniformly efficacious for all drugs, activated charcoal appears to be a generally useful adjunct for gastrointestinal decontamination.

scholarly journals Evaluatıon of Basal Metabolıc Panels in Drug Poısonıng Who Applıed Wıth Actıvated Charcoal

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Activated Charcoal ◽  
Suicide Attempts ◽  
Active Charcoal ◽  
Reference Ranges ◽  
Chronic Medication ◽  
Significant Change ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Gastrointestinal Decontamination

Introduction: Poisoning is the hindering of the bodily functions of the organism after it encounters a toxic factor. Poisoning may be the result of suicide attempts, overdose, or adverse effects. Some of these patients require gastrointestinal decontamination. The most commonly used material for this is activated charcoal. Activated charcoal may cause side-effects in the human body. Purpose: This study examines the effects of active charcoal on the basic metabolic panel when used on patients for any reason. Material and Method: This is a retrospective, single-center, and observational study. The subjects of the study are patients that were admitted to the emergency room between 01.01.2012 and 30.07.2017 with various cases of poisoning, and who underwent activated charcoal treatment. The ingested drugs were classified according to their active substances. The patients were evaluated with regard to their age, gender, vital findings, chronic diseases, chronic medication, whether they were referred from external centres, and whether or not they received active charcoal. Results: The changes in patients' levels of pCO2, Na, Ca, BUN, creatinine and blood glucose were found to be statistically significant. However, since all the obtained values were within reference ranges, the difference was not considered to be clinically significant. No significant change was observed in blood pH, K and Mg concentrations. Conclusion: This study is a first in the literature to indicate that there is no clinically significant change in the basic metabolic panels of patients who received active charcoal treatment. This study has shown that active charcoal treatment can be applied to patients with chronic diseases.

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