The Connecticut Poison
Control Center, located on the UCHC campus, handles over 100
calls per day, offering free poisoning and exposure information
to the general public and health care providers. For physicians,
they can be a valuable resource in the management of the poisoned
patient. The center is staffed by specially trained nurses, pharmacists,
and physicians. The nurses generally have previously worked in
the ICU or ED setting, so they are very experienced with advanced
patient management. Many of the CPCC staff have been there for
many years, and have a wealth of experience in handling toxic
exposures. Additionally, a physician toxicologist is on call 24
hours a day if needed for more complicated or serious exposures.
The CPCC is a valuable resource, and one should not hesitate
to use it when one encounters a poisoned patient in the ED setting.
In this capacity, it should be thought of and treated as a consulting
service, which can make treatment recommendations, and will continue
to follow the patient throughout their hospital course. As such,
when the initial call to the CPCC is made, the caller should be
ready to present the case to them just as with any other consulting
service. All too often, the CPCC is called before the patient
has even been seen, or a medical student is sent off to call the
CPCC without being given the relevant information first. This
is not productive, and is largely a waste of the caller and the
CPCC’s time. A good rule of thumb for physicians wanting a toxicology
consult for a case is not to call the CPCC with any less information
than you would be comfortable presenting to a consulting surgeon
or other attending. This is not meant to discourage anyone from
utilizing the CPCC as a resource, rather just a suggestion on
how the get the best yield from the interaction.
An additional resource at the University of Connecticut Health
Center is the Medical Toxicology Clinic. This clinic provides
diagnosis and follow-up for patients who have been referred from
the CPCC or private physicians after toxicologic exposures. Each
patient at the clinic is seen by a team that includes toxicologists
(both MD and PharmD), the UCONN Toxicology fellow, residents and
students. The clinic sees patients with all types of poisonings,
including industrial and agricultural chemicals, heavy metals,
and those who feel they are being intentionally poisoned by someone
else. A very important population of clinic patients are those
who are coping with the long term effects of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Patients who survive a significant CO exposure are often left
with substantial cognitive deficits, and need to be followed closely
for at least 4-6 weeks post exposure.
