Suchergebnisse

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- List of Figures -- List of Tables -- Preface -- Acknowledgment -- Author -- Chapter 1: Arsenic Poisoning through Ages: Victims of Venom -- 1.1 Arsenic: Terminology and History -- 1.2 Arsenic Chemistry -- 1.2.1 Principal Arsenic Compounds -- 1.2.2 Properties of Arsenic -- 1.2.3 Arsenic Analysis: Geochemical Speciation -- 1.3 Arsenic Applications -- 1.3.1 Homicidal and Suicidal Arsenic -- 1.3.2 Medicinal Arsenic -- 1.3.3 Arsenic in Industries -- 1.3.4 Arsenic in Agriculture -- 1.4 Arsenic in Environment -- 1.4.1 Arsenic in Water -- 1.4.2 Arsenic in Rocks and Soils -- 1.4.3 Arsenic in Atmosphere -- 1.4.4 Dietary Sources of Arsenic -- 1.5 Mechanism of Arsenic in Groundwater -- 1.6 Health Impacts of Arsenic Toxicity -- 1.7 Regulation for Arsenic Exposure -- 1.8 Concluding Remarks -- Chapter 2: Groundwater Arsenic Catastrophe: The Global Scenario -- 2.1 Worldwide Arsenic Catastrophe -- 2.2 Arsenic in Asian Countries -- 2.2.1 Alluvial and Deltaic Aquifers, Bangladesh -- 2.2.2 Irrawaddy Delta, Burma -- 2.2.3 Mekong Delta, Cambodia -- 2.2.4 Alluvial Plains, China -- 2.2.5 Ganges-Brahmaputra Plain, India -- 2.2.6 Kurdistan Province, Iran -- 2.2.7 Japan -- 2.2.8 Terai Alluvial Plain, Nepal -- 2.2.9 Indus Alluvial Plain, Pakistan -- 2.2.10 Quaternary Aquifer, Taiwan -- 2.2.11 Ron Phibun, Thailand -- 2.2.12 Western Anatolia, Turkey -- 2.2.13 Red River Basin and Mekong Delta, Vietnam -- 2.3 Arsenic in North America -- 2.3.1 Canada -- 2.3.2 Mexico -- 2.3.3 The USA -- 2.4 Arsenic in South America -- 2.4.1 Chaco-Pampean Plain, Argentina -- 2.4.2 Brazil -- 2.4.3 Chile -- 2.5 Arsenic in Europe -- 2.5.1 France -- 2.5.2 Germany -- 2.5.3 Greece -- 2.5.4 The Great Hungarian Plain -- 2.5.5 Italy -- 2.5.6 The Danube Basin: Romania, Slovakia, and Croatia -- 2.5.7 Scandinavia

Acute intentional poisonings represent an important part of emergency pediatric pathology, as well as a psychiatric one, with an escalation tendency over the past years. The current paper consists of a descriptive prospective study, which took place over 12 months, and included 342 children within the age range 6-18 years, that presented in the Emergency Unit, being subsequently treated as in-patients of the Pediatric Poisoning Center of "Grigore Alexandrescu" Emergency Clinical Hospital for Children. The number of pediatric acute intentional poisonings hospitalized within the time frame of the study was 819 cases. Of these, 342 were intentional, which constitutes a percentage of 41.75%, and 477 were accidental, i.e. 58.24%. The etiology of the acute intentional poisonings is varied; however, medication (54.38%), ethanol (28.65%), and drugs of abuse (12.28%) were predominant. A higher frequency of acute intentional poisonings was noticed in girls (65.49%) as compared to boys (34.50%), probably due to the particularities the psychological profile of this sex shown at this age, i.e. higher emotional instability and display tendency. Out of the total number of acute intentional poisonings, we identified 20 cases of suicide attempts, which represent 5.83% of the total acute voluntary poisonings. Moreover, some of these cases constitute a repeated suicide attempts. The studied group included 30 cases of chronic substance abuse and 6 chronic alcohol abuse cases, with ages within the 13-17 years range, 12 of which were females and 24 males. Out of the 36 chronic substance/alcohol abuse patients, 4 were social cases. Pediatric acute intentional self-poisoning is an important public health issue, alarming through its consequences and its hidden neuropsychiatric and behavioral substrate. This is because adolescence is a period of marked emotional fragility, sensitive to all sorts of influences.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a serious public health issue. In England and Wales alone, every year some 4,000 attendances to emergency departments (EDs) are the result of accidental CO poisoning. Statistics show that CO kills more than 30 people a year and leads to around 200 hospital admissions, but these figures are likely to be a gross underestimate. Consequently, treating accidental CO poisoning may actually be costing much more than the estimated £178 million per annum. Healthcare professionals have a vital role to play in preventing, diagnosing and treating patients exposed to CO. However, these professionals face a number of barriers to action: gaps in knowledge, limited awareness, and a lack of co-ordination within and between the healthcare sectors. These barriers need to be removed if we are to reduce significantly the number of accidental deaths and unnecessary injuries caused by CO poisoning, and to improve patient management and recovery. This report has been prepared by members of COMed, the healthcare professionals' sub-group of the APPCOG Stakeholder Forum. It presents a number of hard-hitting essays that review current knowledge and practice on the diagnosis and management of CO poisoning in the healthcare system. It identifies gaps in knowledge and practice, and makes recommendations to close those gaps so that diagnosis, patient management and recovery can be improved. The findings presented in this report led members of the sub-group to conclude that:  A lack of awareness amongst healthcare professionals of CO poisoning as a cause of illness is very likely to be impacting adversely on public health outcomes.  Much remains to be discovered and explained about the link between low level chronic CO exposure and long-term effects on an individual's health - for example, its impact on diseases of the cardiovascular and neurological system and whether CO is a casual factor of disease or involved in disease processes not previously associated with exposure to CO.  Action is required throughout the healthcare profession, as well as by the Government, its Agencies, and Academia, to help protect the public from accidental CO poisoning.

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1. Background -- 2. A Trail of Radioactive Materials -- 3. Toxic Dilemma -- 4. Carcinogens Found on the School Grounds -- 5. Communication Equals Awareness -- 6. Those Who Knew -- 7. The Recipients -- 8. Government Cover-Up or Incompetence -- 9. "Give Me a Break" -- 10. Additional Evidence -- 11. Suspected Leukemia (Disease) Cluster -- 12. More Questions -- 13. You Be the Judge -- Appendix A -- Appendix B -- Notes -- Bibliography -- About the Author.

Carbon monoxide, a gas originating from incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels, is an important cause of human deaths. In this paper, we describe an unusual carbon monoxide poisoning in a dwelling without obvious sources of combustion gases, for which two adults had to be treated in a hyperbaric chamber. Carbon monoxide readings were taken in the house and in the neighboring homes. Methane gas and nitrogen oxide levels were also monitored in the house air. Soil samples were collected around the house and tested for hydrocarbon residues. The investigation revealed the presence of a pocket of carbon monoxide under the foundation of the house. The first readings revealed carbon monoxide levels of 500 ppm in the basement. The contamination lasted for a week. The investigation indicated that the probable source of contamination was the use of explosives at a nearby rain sewer construction site. The use of explosives in a residential area can constitute a major source of carbon monoxide for the neighboring populations. This must be investigated, and public health authorities, primary-care physicians, governmental authorities, and users and manufacturers of explosives must be made aware of this problem.

Background -- A trail of radioactive materials -- Toxic dilemma -- Carcinogens found on the school grounds -- Communication equals awareness -- Those who knew -- The recipients -- Government cover-up or incompetence -- "Give me a break" -- Additional evidence -- Suspected leukemia (disease) cluster -- More questions -- You be the judge.