Hypothermia and Cold-Related Injuries
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen In the United States, hypothermia should be a preventable disease, yet between 1999 and 2011, an average of 1301 people per year die of excessive natural…
PEDIATRICS
Heat Disorders
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Heat disorders such as heat exhaustion and heatstroke result from a failure of the body’s regulatory mechanisms to maintain a constant body temperature. Individuals at the…
Lead, Other Metals, and Chelation Therapy
LEAD Print Section Listen Lead is a highly toxic metal, and exposure to it can produce a wide range of adverse health effects.1,2 It is a soft, pliable metal that…
Fire-Related Inhalational Injury
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Fire-related injuries constitute a major health hazard in the United States. It is estimated there is a civilian fire death every 175 minutes, and a civilian…
Withdrawal Syndromes
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Drug withdrawal is a physiologic response to an effectively lowered drug concentration in a patient tolerant to the drug in question. Withdrawal results in a predictable…
Hazardous Household Chemicals: Hydrocarbons, Alcohols, and Caustics
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Young children are frequently poisoned by agents that are attractive and readily available to them. The combination of curiosity, desire to mimic parental behavior (such as…
Drugs of Abuse
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Drugs of abuse continue to have a significant impact on healthcare utilization in the pediatric population. The pediatric hospitalist should consider drugs of abuse in the…
Toxicity of Over-the-Counter Medications and Oral Hypoglycemic Agents
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen The household medicine cabinet is filled with products that are potentially toxic, many of which have been obtained over the counter. According to the 2011 American…
Stabilization and Hospitalization of the Poisoned Child
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Over 2 million poisoning exposures are reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System each year.1 Nearly half of all reported…
Pneumothorax and Pneumomediastinum
BACKGROUND Print Section Listen Pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum are examples of air leak syndromes in which air accumulates in the spaces outside the lung airways and alveoli. Pneumothorax refers to the…
