Cyanogen Chloride Poisoning Differential Diagnoses

  • Author: Heather Murphy-Lavoie, MD, FAAEM; Chief Editor: Robert G Darling, MD, FACEP   more...
 
Updated: Nov 17, 2011
 
 

Diagnostic Considerations

Consider the diagnosis of cyanogen chloride (CK) poisoning in patients with irritation of the eyes, nose, and respiratory tract followed by rapid collapse or seizures, accompanied by metabolic acidosis and decreased oxygen consumption.[5, 6]

Other agents that may have similar features in toxicity include the following:

  • Arsine
  • Azides
  • Carbon monoxide
  • Hydrogen sulfide
  • Inert gases (simple asphyxiants)
  • Isoniazid
  • Metformin
  • Methemoglobin-inducing agents
  • Monomethylhydrazine
  • Organophosphates and carbamate
  • Phosphine
  • Strychnine
  • Water hemlock

Differential Diagnoses

Proceed to Workup
 
 
Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Heather Murphy-Lavoie, MD, FAAEM  Assistant Professor, Assistant Residency Director, Emergency Medicine Residency, Associate Program Director, Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship, Section of Emergency Medicine and Hyperbaric Medicine, Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans; Clinical Instructor, Department of Surgery, Tulane University School of Medicine

Heather Murphy-Lavoie, MD, FAAEM is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Jorge A Martinez, MD, JD  Clinical Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans; Clinical Instructor, Department of Surgery, Tulane School of Medicine

Jorge A Martinez, MD, JD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Cardiology, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Physicians, and Louisiana State Medical Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Andre Pennardt, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, FAWM  Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Medical College of Georgia; Assistant Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences; Consulting Staff, Departments of Emergency Medicine, Aviation Medicine and Dive Medicine, Womack Army Medical Center

Andre Pennardt, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, FAWM is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, Association of Military Surgeons of the US, International Society for Mountain Medicine, National Association of EMS Physicians, Special Operations Medical Association, and Wilderness Medical Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Robert G Darling, MD, FACEP  Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F Edward Hebert School of Medicine; Associate 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, American Telemedicine Association, and Association of Military Surgeons of the US

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

Rick Kulkarni, MD Attending Physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Division of Emergency Medicine, Harvard Medical School

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

Disclosure: WebMD Salary Employment

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

Suzanne White, MD Medical Director, Regional Poison Control Center at Children's Hospital, Program Director of Medical Toxicology, Associate Professor, Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine

Suzanne White, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, American College of Epidemiology, American College of Medical Toxicology, American Medical Association, and Michigan State Medical Society

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

References

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