Podcast Summary
Poison Control Centers: Poison Control Centers offer expert advice and resources for dealing with potential poisonings, with medical professionals available 24/7 to answer questions and provide guidance.
The Lady to Lady podcast, which recently celebrated its 600th episode, offers listeners a unique blend of entertainment and education. Each episode features co-hosts Erin Welsh and Erin Almond Updank, who discuss various topics with special guests and share personal stories. In this particular episode, they delve into the world of poison control centers, with the help of Dr. Suzanne Duion, the medical director of the Connecticut Poison Control Center and an associate professor at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Dr. Duion shares her expertise and answers the hosts' burning questions about what it's like to work at a poison control center and how it all works. The podcast also includes a segment where the hosts recommend a cocktail recipe, encouraging listeners to "name their poison." The podcast is available on various platforms and offers additional resources on its website, including transcripts, merchandise links, and a form for submitting personal poison control center stories. Overall, the Lady to Lady podcast provides an engaging and informative experience for its audience.
Poison Center Medical Director: Poison Center Medical Directors consult on critical cases and make population-based decisions impacting millions, balancing bedside care and big-picture strategies.
Becoming a medical director of a poison center offers the opportunity to delve deep into a specific topic while also making population-based decisions that can impact millions of people. This role involves both consulting at the bedside for critical cases and making big decisions on treatment options for entire state populations. The poison center receives calls 24/7, and the first steps involve assessing the emergency, collecting information about the substance and exposure, and consulting with poison specialists who use their knowledge and algorithms to make recommendations. The role is rewarding as it provides case-by-case assistance to physicians, ensuring they have the necessary support and guidance in managing poisonings.
Poison centers: Poison centers save healthcare resources and ensure patient wellbeing by providing expert advice over the phone, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions and saving families from additional stress and costs.
Poison centers play a crucial role in saving healthcare resources and ensuring patient wellbeing by providing expert advice over the phone. Poison specialists answering these calls are highly trained individuals, often pharmacists or nurses, who undergo rigorous training and certification. They use resources like the poison index, or micrometics, an extensive online database, to identify and classify ingredients and assess risks. By providing guidance on how to safely manage potential poisonings, poison centers help prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and save patients and their families from additional stress and costs.
Drug interactions: Understanding pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics is essential to recognize potential drug interactions. Two medications targeting the same receptor can lead to either increased or decreased effects, and household chemicals can interact harmfully.
Understanding pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics is crucial in recognizing potential drug interactions. Pharmacokinetics deals with how medications are metabolized and eliminated from the body, while pharmacodynamics involves how drugs interact with receptors. Having a basic knowledge of these principles can help identify potential problems when a patient is taking multiple medications or consuming household chemicals. For instance, drug interactions can occur when two medications target the same receptor, leading to either too much or too little effect. Similarly, ingesting a household chemical like insecticide and another substance, such as turpentine, can result in harmful interactions. The increasing availability of medications and chemicals in various forms, such as gummies, edibles, and dietary supplements, adds to the complexity of identifying potential interactions. It's essential to be vigilant and educate ourselves and others about these risks to ensure the best possible patient outcomes.
Poison control centers: Poison control centers in the US gather real-time data on calls and exposures, leading to valuable insights and trends, with over 2.4 million encounters in 2022, including 2 million human exposures, 50,000 animal exposures, and 360,000 information requests. Despite their crucial role, funding remains an issue and there's a need for more centers globally.
Poison control centers play a crucial role in public health and medicine, particularly in the US where there are 55 centers serving all states and territories. These centers use a centralized reporting system, the National Poison Data System, to gather real-time data on calls and exposures, leading to valuable insights and trends. In 2022, there were over 2.4 million encounters logged, with 2 million human exposures, 50,000 animal exposures, and 360,000 information requests. Despite the significant impact, funding for poison control centers remains an issue, and globally, there's a need for more centers. The most rewarding aspect for poison control professionals is saving lives through appropriate antidote use and quick response. These moments of success, though rare, are cause for celebration.
Poison control trends: Though overall poison control calls have decreased, serious exposures leading to hospitalization or death have slightly increased, with children under five being a significant demographic for household cleaning substance and analgesic exposures. The internet has reduced info-only calls, but poison control centers remain vital for saving lives and reducing healthcare costs.
Despite a decline in overall poison control calls since 2008, the number of serious exposures leading to hospitalization or death has been on a slight increase. The report also highlights that children under five continue to account for a large percentage of exposures, particularly to household cleaning substances and analgesics. The reliance on the internet for information has also increased, leading to a decrease in information-only calls to poison control centers. However, it's important to note that poison control centers still play a crucial role in saving lives and healthcare dollars, as demonstrated by studies showing increased healthcare utilization and costs in areas without poison control centers.
Poison Control Centers: Poison control centers save between $7 and $15 for every dollar spent, contributing to over a billion dollars in healthcare savings annually. Their closure can lead to significant costs and potential harm.
The closure of Louisiana's poison control center in 1991 resulted in significant costs, both financially and in terms of potential lives saved. The cost of running the center was three times that of the poison control center's budget, and the lack of access to poison control services led to potential harm and unnecessary healthcare spending. The value of poison control centers is significant, with estimates suggesting that they save between $7 and $15 for every dollar spent, contributing to over a billion dollars in healthcare savings annually. Despite this, funding for poison control centers remains at risk, and access to these vital services is not universal, particularly in low and middle income countries. The long-term investment in poison control centers can lead to substantial savings and improved health outcomes. If you need help with potential poison exposure, remember the number to call is 1-800-222-1222 or visit poisonhelp.org. These resources offer valuable information and assistance, and the updated website now allows for online submissions for non-emergency inquiries.
Poison Control Centers: Poison control centers play a crucial role in handling emergency poison-related calls, providing expert advice, and saving lives. The 40th annual report of the National Poison Data Systems offers valuable insights into their historical and present-day importance, while the World Health Organization's directory highlights their global presence.
The significant role and impact of poison control centers, as highlighted in the 40th annual report of the National Poison Data Systems (NPDS) from America's poison centers. The report offers an extensive amount of detail and insight into the historical and present-day importance of these centers. Additionally, the World Health Organization's directory of poison centers, although not entirely up-to-date, provides an interesting perspective on the global presence and importance of these resources. We're grateful to Dr. Doyon for sharing his expertise and enthusiasm for the topic, and we're excited to explore more stories and insights in future episodes. A heartfelt thank you to Bloodmobile for the music, Tom Bryfogle and Liana Squalache for audio mixing, Exactly Right Network for support, and our listeners for tuning in. And a special thank you to our patrons for their ongoing support – we truly couldn't do it without you! Stay curious, and if you have a poison control story to share, please reach out to us. Until next time, remember: wash your hands!