Preface

 The term "poison" was first used in ancient French literature dating back to the Thirteenth century. Poisoning is a process in which an organism becomes severely chemically harmed by a toxic substance or venom. Poisoning, or the hazardous effects of foreign substances on the metabolism, has long been recognized as one of the greatest threats to public health. Industrialization, urbanization, economics, changes in communication, and availability of toxic agents, including various medicines, are among many factors that have an impact on patterns of human poisoning in the modern era.

It is important to increase awareness of the risk factors for poisoning with different substances: e.g., illicit drugs, industrial exposure, warfare agents, foods, and prescribed medicines, all of which can threaten an organism's homeostasis permanently or temporarily. On the other hand, standard medical education encompasses only a small part of toxicology and gives just a hint of how to manage a poisoned patient. Another point of view suggests that the importance of poisoning mandates a variety of clinicians, including almost all disciplines in medicine, namely, family physicians, emergency medicine physicians, pediatricians, and internists, who all have advanced knowledge of the management of poisoned patients.

 Therefore, this book is intended for clinicians in routine practice who are willing to reach the contemporary literature data on different scenarios of poisoning and new techniques developed for elimination, decontamination, and treatment.

#### **Ozgur Karcıoglu, MD, FEMAT**

Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul Education and Research Hospital, Fatih, Istanbul

#### **Banu Arslan, MD, MS**

Naveen Jindal School of Management, Healthcare Management and Leadership Program, University of Texas at Dallas, USA

Section 1

General Principles in the

Management of Intoxications

1

Section 1
