Biomaterial Database

Drug analysis in the overdosed patient: its application to clinical toxicology. 1977

A Bobik, and A J McLean

A study was made of 187 patients suffering from overdosage by means of clinical records and drug analysis. Drugs were detected in 152 patients. The groups of drugs most frequently involved in these patients were sedatives (51-7%), tricyclic antidepressants (21-8%) and analgesics (11-2%). This overall pattern differed little from that determined by clinical diagnosis. However, discrepancies between clinical diagnosis and laboratory analysis were found in 43 patients. A retrospective assessment was made from clinical records of the influence of drug assay results upon clinical management. Decisions as to the need for admission to hospital and decisions relating to the management of patients suffering from overdoses of analgesics and tricyclic antidepressants were aided by drug analysis.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D011041	Poisoning	A condition or physical state produced by the ingestion, injection, inhalation of or exposure to a deleterious agent.	Poisonings
D011042	Poisons	Substances which, when ingested, inhaled, or absorbed, or when applied to, injected into, or developed within the body in relatively small amounts may, by their chemical action, cause damage to structure or disturbance of function. (From Dorland, 27th ed)	Poison
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260	Female		Females
D006760	Hospitalization	The confinement of a patient in a hospital.	Hospitalizations
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man