Question

Difficulty: MediumGeneral Internal Medicine

Match each patient's clinical presentation of toxic ingestion or poisoning with the most appropriate specific pharmacological antidote or treatment.

  • A 22-year-old woman presents with nausea, vomiting, and right upper quadrant abdominal pain 36 hours after an intentional medication overdose. Labs show AST 3,500 U/L and ALT 4,200 U/L.N-acetylcysteine
  • A 19-year-old man presents with tinnitus, tachypnea, nausea, and confusion. Arterial blood gas reveals a mixed primary respiratory alkalosis and primary high anion gap metabolic acidosis.Sodium bicarbonate
  • A 45-year-old man is brought in obtunded. Labs show a severe high anion gap metabolic acidosis, a high osmolar gap, and urinalysis reveals envelope-shaped calcium oxalate crystals.Fomepizole
  • A 50-year-old agricultural worker is brought to the emergency department with excessive salivation, lacrimation, urination, diarrhea, pinpoint pupils, and diffuse muscle fasciculations.Atropine
  • A 62-year-old woman presents with profound bradycardia, hypotension, and hypoglycemia after intentionally ingesting a large amount of her home cardiovascular medications.Glucagon

Answer

Acetaminophen toxicity is treated with N-acetylcysteine; salicylate toxicity with sodium bicarbonate; ethylene glycol toxicity with fomepizole; organophosphate poisoning with atropine; and beta-blocker overdose with glucagon.
Each correct pair links a classic toxicological presentation to its definitive pharmacological treatment based on the underlying mechanism of toxicity.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze each clinical presentation to identify the specific toxidrome or ingested substance.
The presentations correspond to acetaminophen, salicylate, ethylene glycol, organophosphate, and beta-blocker poisonings.
Accurate identification of the toxin is required to select the specific antidote.
2
Match the identified toxin to its mechanism-specific pharmacological antidote.
Acetaminophen pairs with N-acetylcysteine; salicylates with sodium bicarbonate; ethylene glycol with fomepizole; organophosphates with atropine; beta-blockers with glucagon.
Each antidote specifically targets the pathophysiological mechanism of the respective toxin.

Key Concept

Recognition of common toxicological emergencies and their specific antidotes is crucial for reducing morbidity and mortality in overdose patients.
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