Abstract
A review of the treatment of acute poisoning must take account of changes in the incidence of different types of poisoning, changes which in turn reflect alterations in drug prescribing, alterations in the chemicals in domestic use and the effects of publicity or fashion. Over the last decade in Great Britain barbiturate poisoning has become less frequent and its place has been taken by poisoning due to psychotropic agents such as the benzodiazepines and antidepressants. Analgesic poisoning is still common though, in the UK at least, paracetamol (acetaminophen) is now ingested as commonly as aspirin. Publicity has probably played a major role in the increased incidence of paraquat poisoning in Britain and fashion has led to widespread abuse of solvents (‘sniffing’).
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Volans, G.N. (1981). General Principles of Treatment. In: Vale, J.A., Meredith, T.J. (eds) Poisoning Diagnosis and Treatment. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6763-5_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-6763-5_4
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