Use of diagnostic aids in the poisoned patient in the emergency department
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Abstract
Objective: The incidence of poisoning in the emergency department is increasing in Colombia. In the initial approach, paraclinical routines are requested, sometimes without a correlation between xenobiotic, pathophysiology and clinical risk. The objective of this research is to describe the use of diagnostic aids in poisoned patients in the emergency department of a high-complexity hospital. Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional study with retrospective data availability for the 2014-2016 period. Information was collected from the medical records of patients who came to the emergency department with diagnoses related to poisoning. Results: 55.4 % of the population was female, 54.5 % were under the age of 25, the majority belonging to the urban area (77%). The intentionality in 68.9% of them was suicidal. Toxidrome was reported in 17.6% of cases, the sedative being the most common (9.2%). Psychotropic drugs were the most commonly used substances (22.8%), the tricyclic antidepressant being the most used with 10.9%, followed by pesticides with 19.1%, among which organophosphates were the most common (8.8%). The most requested diagnostic aids were the hemogram in 94.3% of the cases, followed by creatinine in 90.2%. The electrocardiogram was performed in 49.7% of the cases and the toxic in urine in 7.8%. Conclusions: A routine use of diagnostic aids is evidenced in the emergency department. Therefore, additional studies are required to evaluate the relevance of diagnostic aids in this setting.
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References
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