When evaluating an intoxicated patient, there is no substitute for a thorough history
and physical examination. Numerous medical shows on television depict a universal
toxicology screen that automatically determines the agent causing a patient's symptoms. Samples cannot
be simply “sent to the lab,” however, with the correct diagnosis to a clinical mystery
returning on a computer printout. Clues from a patient's physical examination are
generally more likely to be helpful than a “shotgun” laboratory approach that involves
indiscriminate testing of blood or urine for multiple agents.
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Article info
Footnotes
Portions of this article were previously published in Holstege CP, Rusyniak DE: Medical Toxicology. 89:6, Med Clin North Am, 2005; with permission.
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© 2006 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
