Utopia is on the horizon. Way two steps, it took two steps and the horizon runs ten steps further. Then ... What good is utopia? For that, it serves to Walk. Eduardo Galeano

A decade ago think of the current reality of our Web page was a utopia. But this utopia we have served, as Galeano said, for walking.  We changed this year but we are on duty. Therefore also our balance sheets and assessments usually arise at any time. We finished a year full of activities, news and growth. RETEL had a year with over seven editions, the site took months with absolute record of visitors, as November that exceeded 75,000, and in total throughout the year we had 686,729 visitors (an average of 57,000 visitors per month). That is, the measures of our portal we confirm that we walk a good path. We provide time for a 2010 meeting where all the good wishes (birds of ill omen: abstain). This newsletter is packed with new features that we hope will be to your liking. And while maintaining their phones Sertox open all year, its members are entitled to well-deserved summer vacation, taking advantage of the break in college, since we are all university professors. So the logo and so we / we wish happy holidays. Until the next issue. JCP

Factors for determining survival in acute organophosphate poisoning. Kang EJ, Seok SJ, Lee KH, Gil HW, Yang JO, Lee EY, Hong SY. Korean J Intern Med 2009; 24(4): 362-7. Abstract.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Organophosphate poisoning has a high mortality rate. Recently, differences among organophosphorus insecticides in human self-poisoning were reported. This study investigated the prognostic risk factors and the mortality of different organophosphates following acute organophosphate poisoning. METHODS: This retrospective study included 68 patients with acute organophosphate poisoning. We investigated patient survival according to initial parameters, including the initial Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, serum cholinesterase level, and hemoperfusion and evaluated the mortality according to organophosphate types. RESULTS: Thirteen of the 68 patients died. The agents responsible for mortality were different. The APACHE II score was a significant predictor of mortality (odds ratio [OR], 1.194; p<0.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.089 to 1.309) and respiratory failure (OR, 1.273; p<0.01; 95% CI, 1.122 to 1.444). The mortality was 0% for dichlorvos, malathion, chlorpyrifos and profenofos. However, other organophosphates showed different mortality (16.7% for O-ethyl-O-4-nitrophenyl phenylphosphonothioate, 25% for phenthoate, 37.5% for phosphamidon, 50% for methidathion). The usefulness of hemoperfusion appears to be limited. CONCLUSIONS: The initial APACHE II score is a useful prognostic indicator, and different organophosphates have different mortality.

A retrospective autopsy study of poisoning in the northern region of Punjab. Gargi J, Tejpal HR, Chanana A, Rai G, Chaudhary R. J Punj Acad Forens Med Toxicol 2008; 8(2): 17-19.Poisoning is prevalent in all parts of the India but the epidemiology of poisoning varies from place to place. In advanced countries it has been observed that poisoning deaths are mainly due to the cleansing agents, detergents, cosmetics and other substances. In India agro-chemicals dominate poisoning. As Punjab is the food bowl of country so here insecticides and other agro-chemical fertilizers are used to a greater extent than in some other areas and are responsible for causing the majority of the poisoning mortality and morbidity. See abstract.

Suicide: Problems of treatment in OPC poisoning. Jha M, Gorea RK, Kumar R, Aggarwal AD. J Punj Acad Forens Med Toxicol 2008; 8(2): 38-39. Abstract. One of the common modes of committing suicide in developing country like India is by consuming poisons. Organophosporous compounds are a common choice due to their easy availability and almost predictable results. The problems faced by physicians treating cases of poisoning are unique. Normally there is a delay in the patient in reaching medical aid center. Persons accompanying patient don't know which poison has been consumed. Sometimes family members who accompany the patient do not speak of poison at all because of they fear harassment by police or defamation of the family. Delays in reaching medical care, getting a correct history, making an accurate diagnosis, and starting proper treatment reduce the likelihood of survival.

Fatal Poisoning Among Young Children from Diethylene Glycol-Contaminated Acetaminophen --- Nigeria, 2008--2009. December 11, 2009/58(48);1345-1347.On November 18, 2008, the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) received a report of 13 cases of unexplained acute renal failure among children from a hospital in Lagos state. Several of the patients had been exposed to a liquid acetaminophen-based teething medication. On November 21, officials from the Nigerian National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) discovered diethylene glycol (DEG) in four batches of the teething medication manufactured during August--October 2009. DEG is a toxic alcohol used in brake fluid, paint, and household cleaning products, and has been used illegally as a cheap substitute solvent in drug manufacturing. Previous DEG poisonings resulting from contamination of medications have been reported in the United States, Nigeria (1990), Panama, and other countries (1--3), and acute renal failure (ARF) is a known manifestation of DEG poisoning. An investigation was launched by the Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (N-FELTP), CDC, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This report summarizes the results of the investigation, which identified 57 cases of DEG poisoning among children aged ≤3 years during August 2008--January 2009, of whom 54 died. Of the 57 children with DEG poisoning, 96% had exposure to the acetaminophen-based teething medication (My Pikin). DEG contamination was identified in six bottles of the medication from patient households and four batches from the facility in which the medication was manufactured. Well-developed and strictly enforced pharmaceutical quality control measures and training programs can prevent DEG-associated large-scale poisoning events (4,5). Full text.

A gold elixir of youth in the 16th century French court .Philippe Charlier, Joël Poupon,  Isabelle Huynh-Charlier, Jean-François Saliège, Dominique Favier,et al.  BMJ 2009;339:b5311- Published 16 December 2009, Gold’s supposed powers of regeneration go back to antiquity. Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79)1 describes the preparation of two remedies using gold and their therapeutic properties. In the 13th century, alchemists like Michael Scot, Roger Bacon, and Arnaud de Villeneuve wrote about "Aurum potabile"—drinkable gold—and how to obtain it.Aurum potabile included many gold preparations, from almost pure water to real gold solutions prepared using nitrohydrochloric acid. Some types of drinkable gold were made by distilling alcohol solutions with sulphuric acid. During the process diethyl ether was made and this dissolved gold chloride, which formed a yellow coloured supernatant phase above a colourless aqueous phase.2 This was considered by some to be true drinkable gold.3Drinkable gold was well known in the 16th century French Court, and Alexandre de la Tourette dedicated his book on the subject to King Henri III.4 In the 17th century, many doctors and chemists like . [ See ]

Agranulocytosis Associated with Cocaine Use --- Four States, March 2008--November 2009. MMWR- CDC. December 18, 2009 / 58(49);1381-1385.In April 2008, a clinical reference laboratory in New Mexico notified the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) of a cluster of unexplained agranulocytosis cases confirmed by bone marrow histopathology during the preceding 2 months. NMDOH began an investigation, which identified cocaine use as a common exposure in 11 cases of otherwise unexplained agranulocytosis during April 2008--November 2009. In the midst of the NMDOH investigation, in November 2008, public health officials in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, reported detecting levamisole (an antihelminthic drug used mainly in veterinary medicine and a known cause of agranulocytosis [1]) from clinical specimens and drug paraphernalia of cocaine users with agranulocytosis. In January 2009, NMDOH posted a notification of its findings on CDC's Epidemic Information Exchange (Epi-X) and notified poison control centers. In a separate investigation during April--November 2009, public health officials in Seattle, Washington, identified 10 cases of agranulocytosis among persons with a history of cocaine use. Of the 21 cases, levamisole was detected from clinical specimens in four of the five patients tested. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as of July 2009, 69% of seized cocaine lots coming into the United States contained levamisole as an added agent. This report summarizes the investigations in New Mexico and Washington, which suggested that levamisole in cocaine was the likely cause of the agranulocytosis. Health-care providers should consider these findings in the differential diagnosis of agranulocytosis, and public health officials should be aware of cases of agranulocytosis associated with cocaine use. [ See ]

Hydroxocobalamin and Sodium Thiosulfate Versus Sodium Nitrite and Sodium Thiosulfate in the Treatment of Acute Cyanide Toxicity in a Swine (Sus scrofa) Model. Vikhyat S. Bebarta,  David A. Tanen, Julio Lairet, Patricia S. Dixon, Sandra Valtier, Anneke Bush.annemergmed, published online 30 November 2009.

Bajiaolian poisoning-a poisoning with high misdiagnostic rate.Chou SL, Chou MY, Kao WF, Yen DH, Yen LY, Huang CI, Lee CH. Am J Emerg Med 2010; 28(1): 85-9. Abstract: BACKGROUND: One of the oldest Chinese herbal medicine, bajiaolian is widely used in traditional therapy. In Taiwan, bajiaolian is the fifth highest cause of poisoning among herbal medicines. The diagnosis is difficult because physicians are unfamiliar with this medicine's multiple presentations in different stages of intoxication. PROCEDURES: The records of 4 major poison centers in Taiwan were searched for all bajiaolian intoxication from July 1985 (the opening of first poison center) to March 2003. Two emergency physicians with toxicologic training reviewed the admission charts and visited case patients for follow-up. FINDINGS: Seventeen patients were identified, of which 15 (88.2%) had been misdiagnosed initially. In the beginning of their medical care, 14 cases were diagnosed as acute gastroenteritis. CONCLUSION: Bajiaolian intoxication is probably misdiagnosed because of early gastrointestinal symptoms followed by neurologic symptoms. A detailed patient history should be taken, and symptoms should be reviewed systemically to improve diagnostic accuracy.

2008 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poison Data System (NPDS): 26th Annual Report. Bronstein AC, Spyker DA, Cantilena LR, Green JL, Rumack BH, Giffin SL. Clin Toxicol (T and F) 2009; 47(10): 911-1084.

Ginkgo biloba for Preventing Cognitive Decline in Older Adults.A Randomized Trial. Beth E. Snitz, PhD; Ellen S. O’Meara, PhD; Michelle C. Carlson, PhD; Alice M. Arnold, PhD; Diane G. Ives, MPH; Stephen R. Rapp, PhD; Judith Saxton, PhD; Oscar L. Lopez, MD; Leslie O. Dunn, MPH; Kaycee M. Sink, MD; Steven T. DeKosky, MD; for the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) Study Investigators.JAMA. 2009;302(24):2663-2670. Full text. See also a previous related article: A new paper in JAMA about Gingko

Using Ecstasy Heightens Sleep Apnea Risk. Medscape. December 2, 2009. An increasing number of otherwise healthy young adults are developing sleep apnea. For some, the sleep disorder may be tied to recreational drug use, report investigators.They outline how serotonin neuronal dysfunction prompted by methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy, is altering the brain and having long-term consequences.The researchers, led by Una McCann, MD, from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, studied 71 medically healthy recreational users and 62 control subjects using all-night sleep polysomnography in a controlled inpatient research setting."Recreational users who had been drug free for at least 2 weeks had significantly increased rates of obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea compared with controls," they report in the December 8 issue of Neurology.[ See ]

Agent Orange Poisons New Generations in Vietnam. time. com.December 19, 2009.This lonely section of the abandoned Danang air base was once crawling with U.S. airmen and machines. It was here where giant orange drums were stored and the herbicides they contained were mixed and loaded onto waiting planes. Whatever sloshed out soaked into the soil and eventually seeped into the water supply. Thirty years later, the rare visitor to the former U.S. air base is provided with rubber boots and protective clothing. Residue from Agent Orange, which was sprayed to deny enemy troops jungle cover, remains so toxic that this patch of land is considered one of the most contaminated pieces of real estate in the country. A recent study indicates that even three decades after the war ended, the cancer-causing dioxins are at levels 300 to 400 times higher than what is deemed to be safe. [ See ]

[ Ir Arriba ]

What Is Botulism? What Causes Botulism?.medicalnewstoday. December 14, 2009.  Botulism is a rare, but potentially fatal infection. It is caused by toxins produced by bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. The toxins produced by clostridium botulinum are the most powerful naturally occurring toxins known to science. "Botulism" comes from the Latin word, botulus, meaning "sausage".The nervous system is attacked and results in paralysis. Left untreated, the paralysis will spread to the lungs, causing breathing failure followed by death. [ See ]