RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A risk assessment based approach to the management of acute poisoning
JF Emergency Medicine Journal
JO Emerg Med J
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and the British Association for Accident & Emergency Medicine
SP 396
OP 399
DO 10.1136/emj.2005.030312
VO 23
IS 5
A1 F F S Daly
A1 M Little
A1 L Murray
YR 2006
UL http://emj.bmj.com/content/23/5/396.abstract
AB Early assessment and management of poisoning constitutes a core emergency medicine competency. Medical and psychiatric emergencies coexist; the acute poisoning is a dynamic medical illness that represents an acute exacerbation of a chronic underlying psychosocial disorder. The emergency physician must use an approach that ensures early decisions address potentially time critical interventions, while allowing management to be tailored to the individual patient’s needs in that particular medical setting. This article outlines a rationale approach to the management of the poisoned patient that emphasises the importance of early risk assessment. Ideally, this approach should be used in the setting of a health system designed to optimise the medical and psychosocial care of the poisoned patient.