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Toxidrome

Definition

A reproducible cluster of clinical findings (vital signs, pupil size, skin, bowel and bladder, mental status) that identifies a class of poison from bedside examination alone, before any analytical confirmation.

Related terms

Antidote
A substance that counteracts a poison by competitive receptor block, enzymatic reactivation, chelation, immune binding or substrate replacement. Antidotes are class-specific, not...
Atropinisation
The clinical end point of titrated atropine therapy in cholinergic poisoning: drying of pulmonary secretions, clearing of crepitations, heart rate above 80,...
DUMBBELS
Mnemonic for the muscarinic side of the cholinergic toxidrome: Diarrhoea, Urination, Miosis, Bronchospasm and Bronchorrhoea, Bradycardia, Emesis, Lacrimation, Salivation.
Oxime Reactivation
Restoration of acetylcholinesterase function by pralidoxime (2-PAM) or obidoxime through cleavage of the organophosphate-enzyme bond, effective only before the enzyme is irreversibly...
Specific Antidote
An agent that acts on the poison's mechanism, not just on its symptoms. Naloxone for opioids, NAC for paracetamol, methylene blue for...

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