Chapter 28 Toxicology

Question 1

What is alcohol use disorder?

Answer 1

A condition characterized by a physical and psychological addiction to ethanol that can range from mild to severe.

Question 2

What are amphetamines?

Answer 2

A class of drugs that increase alertness and excitation (stimulants); include methamphetamine (crank or ice), methylenedioxamphetamine (MDA, Adam), and methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, Eve, Ecstasy).

Question 3

What is an antagonist?

Answer 3

A molecule that blocks the ability of a given chemical to bind to its receptor, preventing a biologic response.

Question 4

What is an antidote?

Answer 4

Something to counteract the effect of a poison.

Question 5

What are barbiturates?

Answer 5

Potent sedative-hypnotics historically used as sleep aids, as antianxiety drugs, and as part of the regimen for seizure control; include drugs such as thiopental (Pentothal, Trapanal) and methohexital (Brevital).

Question 6

What are benzodiazepines?

Answer 6

The family of sedative-hypnotics that provide muscle relaxation and mild sedation; most commonly used to treat anxiety, seizures, and alcohol withdrawal; include drugs such as diazepam (Valium) and midazolam (Versed).

Question 7

What is caladium?

Answer 7

A common houseplant that contains calcium oxalate crystals; ingestion leads to nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Question 8

What is a castor bean?

Answer 8

A seed that contains the poison ricin. Its ingestion causes a variety of toxic effects: burning of the mouth and throat; nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and severe stomach pains; prostration; failing vision; and kidney failure, which is the usual cause of death.

Question 9

What are caustics?

Answer 9

Chemicals that are acids or alkalis; cause direct chemical injury to the tissues they contact.

Question 10

What is chemical suicide?

Answer 10

A method of suicide that involves mixing certain household chemicals in an enclosed space to create toxic gases, such as hydrogen sulfide and hydrogen cyanide; also called detergent suicide.

Question 11

What is cocaine?

Answer 11

A stimulant; a naturally occurring alkaloid extracted from the leaves of the Erythroxylon coca plant, found in South America.

Question 12

What are delirium tremens (DTs)?

Answer 12

A severe withdrawal syndrome seen in people with alcohol use disorder deprived of ethyl alcohol; characterized by restlessness, fever, sweating, disorientation, agitation, and seizures; can be fatal if untreated.

Question 13

What is dieffenbachia?

Answer 13

A common houseplant also called dumb cane; ingestion leads to burns of the mouth and tongue, paralysis of the vocal cords, nausea, and vomiting; in severe cases, edema of the tongue and larynx may occur, leading to airway compromise.

Question 14

What is a drug?

Answer 14

A substance that has some therapeutic effect when given in the appropriate circumstances and dose.

Question 15

What is drug addiction?

Answer 15

A chronic disorder characterized by the compulsive use of a substance that results in physical, psychological, or social harm to the user.

Question 16

What is drug misuse?

Answer 16

Any use of drugs that causes physical, psychological, economic, legal, or social harm to the user or others affected by the user’s behavior.

Question 17

What does DUMBELS stand for?

Answer 17

An acronym representing the symptoms of organophosphate poisoning: Diarrhea, Urination, Miosis, Bradycardia/Bronchospasm/Bronchorrhea, Emesis, Lacrimation, and Seizures/Salivation/Sweating.

Question 18

What is foxglove?

Answer 18

A plant that contains cardiac glycosides and is used in making digitalis; ingestion of leaves causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, hyperkalemia, and a variety of dysrhythmias.

Question 19

What is habituation?

Answer 19

A physical tolerance and psychological dependence on a drug or drugs.

Question 20

What is a hallucinogen?

Answer 20

An agent that produces false perceptions in any one of the five senses.

Question 21

What are hydrocarbons?

Answer 21

Compounds made up principally of hydrogen and carbon atoms; mostly obtained from the distillation of petroleum.

Question 22

What does illicit mean in relation to drugs?

Answer 22

Illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and lysergic acid diethylamide.

Question 23

What is lantana?

Answer 23

A perennial flowering shrub with clusters of red berries that can lead to serious and even fatal poisoning; ingestion causes stomach upsets, muscle weakness, shock, and sometimes death.

Question 24

What does licit mean in relation to drugs?

Answer 24

Legalized drugs such as coffee, alcohol, and tobacco.

Question 25

What is lithium?

Answer 25

A common mood stabilizer used in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

Question 26

What is marijuana?

Answer 26

The dried leaves and flower buds of the Cannabis sativa plant, which are smoked to achieve a high.

Question 27

What is methamphetamine?

Answer 27

A highly addictive drug in the amphetamine family.

Question 28

What are monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)?

Answer 28

Psychiatric medications used primarily to treat atypical depression by increasing norepinephrine and serotonin levels in the central nervous system.

Question 29

What are opiates?

Answer 29

Various alkaloids derived from the opium or poppy plant.

Question 30

What is an opioid?

Answer 30

A drug that acts as a central nervous system depressant and produces insensibility or stupor; can be a natural or synthetic product.

Question 31

What are organophosphates?

Answer 31

A class of chemicals found in many insecticides used in agriculture and in the home.

Question 32

What is an overdose?

Answer 32

A condition that occurs when a drug is taken in excess; can have toxic or lethal consequences.

Question 33

What is physical dependence?

Answer 33

A physiologic state of adaptation to a drug, usually characterized by tolerance to the effects of the drug and a withdrawal syndrome if use of the drug is stopped, especially abruptly.

Question 34

What is a poison?

Answer 34

A substance whose chemical action could damage structures or impair function when introduced into the body.

Question 35

What is potentiation?

Answer 35

Enhancement of the effect of one drug by another drug.

Question 36

What is psychological dependence?

Answer 36

The emotional state of craving a drug to maintain a feeling of well-being.

Question 37

What is rhabdomyolysis?

Answer 37

The destruction of muscle tissue leading to a release of potassium and myoglobin.

Question 38

What are salicylates?

Answer 38

Chemicals found in plants; a primary ingredient in aspirin.

Question 39

What is a sedative-hypnotic?

Answer 39

A drug used to reduce anxiety, calm agitated patients, and help produce drowsiness and sleep; a central nervous system depressant.

Question 40

What are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)?

Answer 40

A class of antidepressants that inhibit the reuptake of serotonin.

Question 41

What is serotonin syndrome?

Answer 41

An idiosyncratic complication that occurs with antidepressant therapy in which patients have lower extremity muscle rigidity, confusion or disorientation, and/or agitation.

Question 42

What is spice?

Answer 42

An illicit drug consisting of a blend of synthetic cannabinoids; it can produce delirium and short- and long-term psychotic effects.

Question 43

What is synergism?

Answer 43

The action of two substances such as drugs, in which the total effects are greater than the sum of the independent effects of the two substances.

Question 44

What is tolerance?

Answer 44

Physiologic adaptation to the effects of a drug such that increasingly larger doses of the drug are required to achieve the same effect.

Question 45

What are toxicologic emergencies?

Answer 45

Medical emergencies caused by toxic agents such as poison; may be intentional or unintentional.

Question 46

What is toxicology?

Answer 46

The study of toxic or poisonous substances.

Question 47

What is a toxidrome?

Answer 47

The syndromelike symptoms of any given class or group of poisonous agents.

Question 48

What is a toxin?

Answer 48

A poison or harmful substance produced by bacteria, animals, or plants.

Question 49

What are tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)?

Answer 49

A group of drugs used to treat severe depression and manage pain; minimal dosing errors can cause toxic results.

Question 50

What is withdrawal syndrome?

Answer 50

A predictable set of signs and symptoms, usually involving altered central nervous system activity that occurs after the abrupt cessation of a drug or after rapidly decreasing the usual dosage of a drug.