Toxicology

Question 1

Six Indications of a Drug/Alcohol Emergency

Answer 1

1. Unresponsiveness
2. Respiratory difficulty
3. Fever
4. Tachycardia, Bradycardia, an Irregular Pulse
5. Vomiting with AMS
6. Seizures

Question 2

General findings for CNS Stimulants (Secondary Assessment)

Answer 2

1. Excitability, elevated mood
2. agitation, apprehension, uncooperativeness
3. Tachycardia
4. Tachypnea
5. Dilated pupils
6. Dry mouth
7. Sweating
8. Increased blood pressure
9. Loss of appetite
10. Lack of sleep

Question 3

General findings for CNS Depressants (Secondary Assessment)

Answer 3

1. Euphoria
2. Drowsiness
3. Sleepiness
4. Bradypnea and decreased tidal volume
5. Bradycardia
6. Hypotension
7. Pupils respond sluggishly to light

Question 4

General findings for Narcotics (Secondary Assessment)

Answer 4

1. Bradycardia
2. Hypotension
3. Inadequate breathing
4. Cool, clammy skin
5. Lethargy
6. Constricted pupils
7. Nausea

Question 5

General findings for Hallucinogens (Secondary Assessment)

Answer 5

1. Motor disturbances
2. Paranoia
3. Anxiety
4. Visual or auditory hallucinations
5. Tachycardia
6. Dilated pupils
7. Flushed face
8. Poor perception of time and distance

Question 6

General findings for Volatile Inhalants (Secondary Assessment)

Answer 6

1. Excrement
2. Euphoria
3. Drunkenness
4. Aggressiveness
5. Depression
6. Headache
7. Nausea
8. Drowsiness
9. Swollen mucous membranes of the nose and mouth
10. Glazed eyes
11. Slurred speech
12. Hallucinations
13. Poor coordination
14. Erratic blood pressure and pulse
15. Paint or chemical stains about the nose and mouth

Question 7

Stages of Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome

Answer 7

Stage 1: Alcoholic tremulousness (Difficulty concentrating, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, sweating, nausea, tremors

Stage 2: Alcoholic hallucinosis (Visual, auditory, or tactile hallucinations)

Stage 3: Withdrawal seizures

Stage 4: Delirium tremens (Confusion, inattentiveness, disorientation, fever, nausea, vomiting, incoherence, hyperirritability, hallucinations, insomnia, diaphoresis)

Question 8

Routes of Exposure of a Drug

Answer 8

1. Ingestion
2. Inhalation
3. Injection
4. Absorption

Question 9

Causes of food poisoning

Answer 9

Nonviruses (type of viruses, like stomach flu virus), Bacteria, Parasites, Toxic agents

Question 10

Carbon monoxide versus oxygen binding to hemoglobin

Answer 10

CO bonds w/ 200x greater affinity

Question 11

Signs of cyanide poisoning

Answer 11

1. a burning sensation in the mouth and throat
2. headache
3. confusion, agitated behavior
4. pulmonary edema
5. seizure
6. hypertension
7. tachycardia
8. progresses to hypotension, shock, coma, and death.

Question 12

Signs of CO poisoning

Answer 12

Initial symptoms are headache, fatigue, and nausea/vomiting

Leads to severe hypoxia & death

Question 13

Signs of caustic ingestion

Answer 13

Caustic ingestion= ingestion of acids or alkalis

Signs:
Drooling, difficulty swallowing, and pain to the mouth, chest, and stomach, burns around mouth and bleeding in esophagus and stomach

Question 14

Signs of hydrocarbon poisoning

Answer 14

Hydrocarbons are in petroleum products, cleaning products

Signs:
Coughing, dyspnea, altered mental status, tachycardia, irregular heartbeat, cyanosis, nausea, vomiting, seizure, pneumonia, brain/kidney/heart injury, and death

Question 15

Stages of Ethylene glycol overdose

Answer 15

Common component of radiator fluid, sweet smelling/tasting

Stage 1: (1-12 hrs) Similar to signs of intoxication

Stage 2: (12-24 hrs) Signs of cardiovascular /pulmonary distress (cyanosis, tachypnea, pulmonary edema, dyspnea).

Stage 3: (24-72 hrs) Problems with renal system (decrease in urine production (oliguria) to no urine production (anuria), bloody urine (hematuria), and low back pain (mainly in the flanks)).

Question 16

Absorbed

Answer 16

Passage of a substance through skin or mucous membranes

upon contact.

Question 17

Activated characol

Answer 17

A distilled charcoal in powder form that can adsorb many
times its weight in contaminants to prevent their absorption by
the body; no longer commonly administered in the emergency
care of patients who have ingested a poison.

Question 18

Antidote

Answer 18

A substance that neutralizes the effects of a poison or a toxic
substance.

Question 19

Drug abuse

Answer 19

Self-administration of drugs (or a single drug) in a manner that
is not in accord with approved medical or social patterns

Question 20

Hallucinogens

Answer 20

Substances that cause hallucinations, or false perceptions not
based on reality; also called “psychedelics”.

Question 21

Huffers

Answer 21

People who inhale vapors to “get high”.

Question 22

Ingested

Answer 22

Substance that is swallowed and enters the gastrointestinal

tract.

Question 23

Inhaled

Answer 23

Breathing in a gas, vapor, fume, or aerosol into the lungs.

Question 24

Injection

Answer 24

Forced introduction into the body through the skin, possibly
into a muscle or blood vessel, usually via a syringe, a bite, or a
sting.

Question 25

Narcotics

Answer 25

CNS depressants derived from opium (opiates) or from 
synthetic opium (opioids).

Question 26

Pharming

Answer 26

Raiding others’ home medicine supplies or using faked

prescriptions to obtain drugs.

Question 27

Poision

Answer 27

Any substance—liquid, solid, or gas—that impairs health or

causes death by its chemical action when it enters the body or omes into contact with the skin.

Question 28

Toxin

Answer 28

Drugs or substances that are poisonous to humans and cause
certain adverse effects that may ultimately lead to death;
“toxin” sometimes considered a synonym to “poison”;
sometimes defined more narrowly as a poisonous substance
of plant or animal origin.

Question 29

Volatile inhalants

Answer 29

Substances that are easily vaporized and inhalable.

Question 30

Withdrawal

Answer 30

A syndrome that occurs after a period of abstinence from the
alcohol or drugs to which a person’s body has become
accustomed.