CBRNE - Ricin: Differential Diagnoses & Workup

References

1. CDC and Public Health Training Network. Recognition, Management and Surveillance of Ricin-Associated Illness [Web cast script]. December 30, 2003. [Full Text].

2. CNN.com. Timeline: UK ricin terror probe. January 23, 2003. [Full Text].

3. Balint GA. Ricin: the toxic protein of castor oil seeds. Toxicology. Mar 1974;2(1):77-102. [Medline].

4. Challoner KR, McCarron MM. Castor bean intoxication. Ann Emerg Med. Oct 1990;19(10):1177-83. [Medline].

5. Ellenhorn MJ, Barceloux DG. Ornamental beans. In: Medical Toxicology Diagnosis and Treatment of Human Poisoning. 1988:1225-27.

6. FBI. Federal Bureau of Investigations Web Page. Available at www.fbi.gov. Accessed 2000.

7. Franz D, USAMRIID. Defense against toxic weapons. In: US Army Medical Research Material Command. 1997.

8. Kopferschmitt J, Flesch F, Lugnier A, et al. Acute voluntary intoxication by ricin. Hum Toxicol. Apr 1983;2(2):239-42. [Medline].

9. Kortepeter MG, Parker GW. Potential biological weapons threats. Emerg Infect Dis. Jul-Aug 1999;5(4):523-7. [Medline].

10. Meselson M, Guillemin J, Hugh-Jones M, et al. The Sverdlovsk anthrax outbreak of 1979. Science. Nov 18 1994;266(5188):1202-8. [Medline].

11. Shih RD, Goldfrank LR. Plants. In: Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies. 6^th ed. 1998:1254-55.

12. US Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. Medical Management of Biocasualities Handbook. 1998.

13. Zilinskas RA. Iraq's biological weapons. The past as future?. JAMA. Aug 6 1997;278(5):418-24. [Medline].

Further Reading

Keywords

Ricinus communis, toxin, agent of biological warfare, weapon of mass destruction, WMD, beans of castor plant, castor beans, food contaminant, water contaminant, hematemesis, bloody diarrhea, melena, food poisoning, hypoxia, cyanosis, labored breathing, tachypnea, tachycardia, progressive respiratory failure, ricin, biological warfare agent, terrorism

Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Ferdinando L Mirarchi, DO, Medical Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Hamot Medical Center; Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Drexel University School of Medicine
Ferdinando L Mirarchi, DO is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, and Emergency Medicine Residents Association
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Jerry L Mothershead, MD, Medical Readiness Consultant, Medical Readiness and Response Group, Battelle Memorial Institute; Advisor, Technical Advisory Committee, Emergency Management Strategic Healthcare Group, Veteran's Health Administration; Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Military and Emergency Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Jerry L Mothershead, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians and National Association of EMS Physicians
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

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Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
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Managing Editor

Rick Kulkarni, MD, Medical Director, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Section of Emergency Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Rick Kulkarni, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Chief Editor

Robert G Darling, MD, FACEP, Clinical Assistant Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F Edward Hebert School of Medicine; Director, Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine
Robert G Darling, MD, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, and Association of Military Surgeons of the US
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.