The Dangerous use of Inhalants among Teens: a Case Report

© 2021 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for the Study of Emerging Drugs. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)The recreational use of inhalants among teenagers and other vulnerable individuals is a growing cause of concern for clinicians. Products, such as computer dusters and spray cleaners containing highly toxic compounds, such as difluoroethane, are being used to obtain immediate euphorizing effects with significant health risks. We provide an overview of this new drug trend in combination with a case report of a 14-year-old girl with a previous psychiatric history, who was admitted at the Addiction Treatment Unit (Ser.D) in Trento (Italy) after a period of inhalant abuse. The lack of literature in the field suggests the need for further investigations on such hazardous practices and more targeted prevention approaches aimed at informing adolescents, their parents and clinicians working with them.Peer reviewe

Biological Terrorism

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks and the subsequent mail-borne anthrax attack of October 2001, it has become dear that health care providers may be called upon to respond to victims of terrorism. Biological terrorism (BT), in particular, involves the use of virulent agents with the intent to cause mass casualties and/or induce fear, a scenario that if effected will severely strain the capacity of regional emergency medical services and pose unique management challenges to clinicians confronted with victimized children. Whether practicing as a pediatric emergency medicine specialist working in an urban children's hospital or as a general clinician in private office-based practice, pediatricians may be the first to suspect that a BT agent may have been utilized. Compared to adults, most caregivers have a relatively low threshold for having children and infants evaluated professionally when they become sick. Furthermore, pediatric patients may have a more rapid or severe response to a biological agent, potentially putting pediatricians and child care providers in the critical position of being the first to diagnose an exposure. The clinician's response to such a situation may determine whether the incident is controlled promptly or whether it evolves into a large-scale epidemiologic catastrophe

Expert Consensus Guidelines for Stocking of Antidotes in Hospitals That Provide Emergency Care

We provide recommendations for stocking of antidotes used in emergency departments (EDs). An expert panel representing diverse perspectives (clinical pharmacology, medical toxicology, critical care medicine, hematology/oncology, hospital pharmacy, emergency medicine, emergency medical services, pediatric emergency medicine, pediatric critical care medicine, poison centers, hospital administration, and public health) was formed to create recommendations for antidote stocking. Using a standardized summary of the medical literature, the primary reviewer for each antidote proposed guidelines for antidote stocking to the full panel. The panel used a formal iterative process to reach their recommendation for both the quantity of antidote that should be stocked and the acceptable timeframe for its delivery. The panel recommended consideration of 45 antidotes; 44 were recommended for stocking, of which 23 should be immediately available. In most hospitals, this timeframe requires that the antidote be stocked in a location that allows immediate availability. Another 14 antidotes were recommended for availability within 1 hour of the decision to administer, allowing the antidote to be stocked in the hospital pharmacy if the hospital has a mechanism for prompt delivery of antidotes. The panel recommended that each hospital perform a formal antidote hazard vulnerability assessment to determine its specific need for antidote stocking. Antidote administration is an important part of emergency care. These expert recommendations provide a tool for hospitals that offer emergency care to provide appropriate care of poisoned patients

A Comprehensive Review of MDMA and GHB: Two Common Club Drugs

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90303/1/phco.21.20.1486.34472.pd