Predicting the Clinical Course in Intentional Drug Overdose: Implications for Use of the Intensive Care Unit

doi:10.1001/archinte.1987.00370010131028

You are seeing this message because your Web browser does not support basic Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.

Vol. 147 No. 1, January 1987

Online Only
	•	Online First Table of Contents

ORIGINAL INVESTIGATIONS

•	Online Features

This Article
•	References
•	Full text PDF
•	Reply to article
•	Send to a friend
•	Save in My Folder
•	Save to citation manager
•	Permissions

Citing Articles
•	Citation map
•	Citing articles on HighWire
•	Citing articles on Web of Science (24)
•	Contact me when this article is cited

Related Content
•	Similar articles in this journal

Social Bookmarking
	What's this?

Predicting the Clinical Course in Intentional Drug Overdose

Implications for Use of the Intensive Care Unit

Allan S. Brett, MD; Neal Rothschild, MD; Richard Gray, MD; Marijo Perry, MD

Arch Intern Med. 1987;147(1):133-137.

Abstract

• Many patients admitted for observation to the intensivecare unit after a drug overdose do not ultimately require intensivecare interventions. We retrospectively analyzed data on 209overdose cases to determine whether clinical assessment in theemergency room could identify patients at risk for complications.Patients were classified as low risk when none of the followinghigh-risk criteria were present in the emergency room: needfor intubation; seizures; unresponsiveness to verbal stimuli;arterial carbon dioxide pressure (tension) greater than or equalto 45 mm Hg; any rhythm except sinus; second- or third-degreeatrioventricular block; QRS greater than or equal to 0.12 s;or systolic pressure less than 80 mm Hg. Of 151 low-risk patients,none developed a high-risk condition after admission, and nonerequired an intensive care intervention. The use of these predictivecriteria in our patient population would have eliminated overhalf the intensive care days without compromising quality ofcare.

(Arch Intern Med 1987;147:133-137)

Author Affiliations

From the Department of Medicine, New England Deaconess Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston (Dr Brett), and the Department of Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC (Drs Rothschild, Gray, and Perry).

Footnotes

Accepted for publication May 12, 1986.

Reprints not available.

Add to CiteULike CiteULike Add to Connotea Connotea Add to Delicious Delicious Add to Digg Digg Facebook Add to Reddit Reddit Add to Technorati Technorati Twitter What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Strengthening evaluation through interactive problem structuring: A case study of hospital care after attempted suicide
Moret-Hartman et al.
Evaluation 2011;17:37-52.
ABSTRACT

Improving the ICU: Part 1
Garland
Chest 2005;127:2151-2164.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT

A combined HPLC-immunoenzymatic comprehensive screening for suspected drug poisoning in the emergency department
Fabbri et al.
Emerg. Med. J. 2004;21:317-322.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT

Adult Toxicology in Critical Care: Part I: General Approach to the Intoxicated Patient
Mokhlesi et al.
Chest 2003;123:577-592.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT

Comprehensive drug screening in decision making of patients attending the emergency department for suspected drug overdose
Fabbri et al.
Emerg. Med. J. 2003;20:25-28.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT

Drug Poisoning and Overdose for the Health Professional: Review of Select Over-the-Counter (OTC) and Prescription Medications
Laven and Oller
Journal of Pharmacy Practice 2000;13:37-81.
ABSTRACT

Use of Intensive Care Units for Patients With Low Severity of Illness
Rosenthal et al.
Arch Intern Med 1998;158:1144-1151.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT

The Clinical Value of Drug Analyses in Deliberate Self-Poisoning
Rygnestad et al.
Hum Exp Toxicol 1990;9:221-230.
ABSTRACT

Implications of Discordance Between Clinical Impression and Toxicology Analysis in Drug Overdose
Brett
Arch Intern Med 1988;148:437-441.
ABSTRACT

Predicting the Clinical Course in Intentional Drug Overdose
Tunkel et al.
Arch Intern Med 1988;148:253-253.
ABSTRACT

| | |