Contributors

Moving beyond the dose makes the poison

“…This comprises a heterogeneous group of patients, spanning across the life course and encompassing intentional self-harm, recreational substance use and occupational and environmental exposures. 1 Hospitalisations relating to a principal drug-related diagnosis made up 1.3% (152 000) of admissions in Australia in 2020-2021. 2 The most common drug involved in these admissions is alcohol, which accounts for nearly three in five hospitalisations (58% or 86 400 hospitalisations).…”

“…7 Although theoretical knowledge of specific antidotes and treatments is valuable, in practice, ED clinicians should have a systematic approach to quantifying the agent, dose, time of ingestion, clinical features of toxicity and progress. 1 In this edition, Koutsogiannis and Guertin present 13 practical tidbits on the management of toxicological patients. 8 Toxicovigilance and the emergence of novel psychoactive substances Globally in 2020, young people were using more drugs than any previous generation with an estimated 5.6% of people aged 15-64 years having used a drug in the past 12 months; a 26% increase from 2010 with an 11% increase projected globally by 2030.…”

“…A core function of EDs is providing initial risk assessment for the acutely poisoned patient. This comprises a heterogeneous group of patients, spanning across the life course and encompassing intentional self‐harm, recreational substance use and occupational and environmental exposures 1 . Hospitalisations relating to a principal drug‐related diagnosis made up 1.3% (152 000) of admissions in Australia in 2020–2021 2 .…”

“…Given the frequency and potential severity of toxicological presentations to the ED, the ACEM curriculum expects trainees to develop a high level of competence in the assessment and management of toxicological patients 7 . Although theoretical knowledge of specific antidotes and treatments is valuable, in practice, ED clinicians should have a systematic approach to quantifying the agent, dose, time of ingestion, clinical features of toxicity and progress 1 . In this edition, Koutsogiannis and Guertin present 13 practical tidbits on the management of toxicological patients 8 …”