eMedicine Specialties > Pediatrics: Cardiac Disease and Critical Care Medicine > Toxicology

Toxicity, Deadly in a Single Dose: Differential Diagnoses & Workup

Author: Cynthia L Morris-Kukoski, PharmD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy and Occupational Medicine, Medical College of Virginia
Coauthor(s): Ann G Egland, MD, Consulting Staff, Department of Operational and Emergency Medicine, Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Apr 23, 2009

Differential Diagnoses

Acidosis, Metabolic
Toxicity, Ethanol
Alkalosis, Metabolic
Toxicity, Hydrocarbons
Child Abuse & Neglect: Physical Abuse
Toxicity, Isoniazid
Shock
Toxicity, Oral Hypoglycemic Agents
Toxicity, Calcium Channel Blocker
Toxicity, Theophylline
Toxicity, Carbamazepine
Toxicity, Tricyclic Antidepressant
Toxicity, Carbon Monoxide
Toxicity, Digitalis

Workup

Laboratory Studies

  • Order laboratory studies directed to the specific ingestion.
  • Consider specific symptoms related to the ingestion or to the patient's preexisting medical conditions, if any.

Imaging Studies

  • Radiography may help in specific ingestion cases. For example, in iron ingestion, radiopaque tablets may be visible in the GI tract. Other radiopaque substances include heavy metals, iodine, phenothiazines, enteric-coated tablets, and chloral hydrate.

Other Tests

  • Perform an electrocardiogram in patients with known or suspected tricyclic antidepressant ingestion to look for a prolongation of the QRS interval of greater than 100 milliseconds.

More on Toxicity, Deadly in a Single Dose

Overview: Toxicity, Deadly in a Single Dose
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Toxicity, Deadly in a Single Dose
Treatment & Medication: Toxicity, Deadly in a Single Dose
Follow-up: Toxicity, Deadly in a Single Dose
References
Further Reading

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Keywords

deadly in a single dose, accidental poisoning, toxic ingestions, medication overdose, drug overdose, fatal poisoning, overdose, single-dose poisoning, poisoning, ingestion, cosmetics, cleaning solutions, alcoholic beverages, unintentional ingestion, toxic ingestion, antidepressant ingestion, tricyclic antidepressant poisoning, desipramine poisoning, imipramine poisoning, monoamine oxidase inhibitor poisoning, amitriptyline poisoning, amoxapine poisoning, antimalarial drug poisoning, chloroquine poisoning, thioridazine poisoning, chlorpromazine poisoning, Clozaril poisoning

clonidine poisoning, lorcainide poisoning, quinidine poisoning, verapamil poisoning, disopyramide poisoning, lidocaine poisoning, nifedipine poisoning, ibogaine poisoning, LSD poisoning, nicotine poisoning, amantadine poisoning, colchicine poisoning, hypoglycemic agent poisoning, albuterol poisoning, chloral hydrate poisoning, codeine poisoning, methadone poisoning, iron poisoning, aspirin poisoning, pseudoephedrine poisoning, benzocaine poisoning, camphor poisoning, lindane poisoning, methanol poisoning, ethanol poisoning

Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Cynthia L Morris-Kukoski, PharmD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacy and Occupational Medicine, Medical College of Virginia
Cynthia L Morris-Kukoski, PharmD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Clinical Toxicology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Ann G Egland, MD, Consulting Staff, Department of Operational and Emergency Medicine, Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Ann G Egland, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, Association of Military Surgeons of the US, Medical Society of Virginia, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

William T Zempsky, MD, Associate Director, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, University of Connecticut and Connecticut Children's Medical Center
William T Zempsky, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Pediatrics
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Mary L Windle, PharmD, Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Pfizer Inc Stock Investment from financial planner; Avanir Pharma Stock Investment from financial planner ; WebMD Salary and stock Employment and investment from financial planner

Managing Editor

Jeffrey R Tucker, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine, University of Connecticut and Connecticut Children's Medical Center
Jeffrey R Tucker, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Massachusetts Medical Society
Disclosure: Merck Salary Employment

CME Editor

Paul D Petry, DO, FACOP, FAAP, Consulting Staff, Freeman Pediatric Care, Freeman Health System
Paul D Petry, DO, FACOP, FAAP is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Osteopathy, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians, and American Osteopathic Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Maureen Strafford, MD, Arnold P Gold Foundation Associate Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics, Tufts University and Tufts-New England Medical Center
Maureen Strafford, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Medical Women's Association, American Pain Society, American Society of Anesthesiologists, International Anesthesia Research Society, Society for Education in Anesthesia, Society for Pediatric Anesthesia, and Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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