Jeffrey Suchard

• Doctor of Medicine
• Medical Doctor at University of California, Irvine

For over 30 years, syringe services programs (SSPs) have served as an efficacious intervention for the prevention of HIV and Hepatitis C transmission among persons who use drugs. Despite a strong body of evidence for the effectiveness of SSPs as a preventative public health measure, numerous local and state governments in the United States continue...

This is the french traduction of: @article{10.1001/archinternmed.2012.4501, author = {Cantrell, Lee and Suchard, Jeffrey R. and Wu, Alan and Gerona, Roy R.}, title = "{Stability of Active Ingredients in Long-Expired Prescription Medications}", journal = {Archives of Internal Medicine}, volume = {172}, number = {21}, pages = {1685-1687}, year = {201...

Objective The University of California (UC) leadership sought to develop a robust educational response to the epidemic of opioid-related deaths. Because the contributors to this current crisis are multifactorial, a comprehensive response requires educating future physicians about safe and effective management of pain, safer opioid prescribing, and...

IntroductionThe Nerium oleander plant contains cardenolides that may cause human poisoning when ingested. A long-standing belief holds that it is possible to be poisoned by eating hot dogs or other foods cooked on Nerium oleander branch skewers. Oleandrin levels in frankfurters cooked on fresh and dry Nerium oleander skewers were measured.Methods H...

Introduction: A multiple-mini interview (MMI) is a type of structured interview, which may assess many non-cognitive domains in residency applicants. There are few studies on MMI during the emergency medicine (EM) residency admissions process in the United States. We sought to determine the strengths, weaknesses, and acceptability of a pilot MMI f...

A 43-year-old man ingested a chlorothalonil-containing fungicide in a suicide attempt. The patient was found to have acute kidney injury from acute tubular necrosis on hospital admission (serum creatinine 2.9 mg/dL), although his renal function recovered with hydration and supportive care. Acute toxicity from chlorothalonil ingestion has been descr...

Exposure to dichloromethane (DCM or methylene chloride - CH2Cl2) in paint strippers continues to be an avoidable source of morbidity and mortality. DCM has been under regulatory scrutiny by occupational and consumer product agencies since the identification of its carcinogenicity in the mid-1980s. We investigated two independent workplace incidents...

In replyWe appreciate the insightful comments provided by Madden and colleagues. The simple goal of our study1 was to determine if long-outdated medications retained active pharmaceutical ingredients within range of their labeled quantities. We correlated this to the term potency because it is applied in one of the most long-respected texts concern...

Background: The contribution of ethanol ([EtOH]) to the osmol gap (OG) is commonly described by the formula [EtOH (mg/dL)]/k, where k is assumed to be 4.6 (one-tenth of its molecular weight) if ethanol behaves ideally in solution. However, several studies on convenience samples of patients suggest that ethanol does not behave ideally and that k ma...

Many people seek medical attention for skin lesions and other conditions they attribute to spider bites. Prior experience suggests that many of these lesions have alternate causes, especially infections with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). This study determined the percentage of emergency department (ED) pa...

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of Aqua Dots (Spin Master Ltd.; Toronto, Canada) on November 7, 2007 due to children becoming ill after swallowing beads from these toy craft kits. Reports suggested that the beads contained 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD), a precursor to gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), rather than the intended, b...

Report of delayed significant coagulopathy, thrombocytopenia, and bleeding after Crotaline envenomation. Recurrent coagulopathy and thrombocytopenia have been described after treatment of Crotaline envenomation with Crotalidae polyvalent immune Fab (CroFab). Until now, there have been no reports of significant spontaneous bleeding despite these abn...

A 37-year-old woman experienced a witnessed generalized seizure in the Emergency Department three hours after ingesting approximately 1400 mg of fluoxetine in a suicide attempt. Although the majority of fluoxetine ingestions are benign, seizures may occur after large intentional overdoses.

A 29-year-old man with no history of diabetes ingested over 60 grams of metformin in a suicide attempt. He presented to the emergency department with acute renal insufficiency, severe lactic acidosis, and rapidly-progressive hyperglycemia. The patient's peak serum glucose level of 707 mg/dL is the highest yet reported in a case of metformin toxicit...

Background: Organophosphate (OP) insecticides are widely used in both agricultural and landscape pest control, and the potential for human exposure to these compounds is significant. Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of acute poisoning with the OP methamidophos and the effects of antidotal therapy with atropine a...

Most spider bites cause limited local tissue inflammation that can be managed with over-the-counter analgesics and antihistamines. Systemic symptoms are rare. However, severe black widow envenomations are associated with involuntary muscular spasm, diaphoresis, and hypertension and can be mistaken for an acute abdomen or myocardial infarction. Alth...

Persons using automobiles and other motor vehicles may be exposed to a variety of toxic chemicals. Any vehicle powered by fossil fuels releases carbon monoxide and other potentially toxic gases. Carbon monoxide poisoning may occur through several mechanisms, either intentionally or unintentionally, and can also occur in moving vehicles. Airbags, mo...

We investigated the ultrastructural effects of the organophosphate compound methamidophos and treatment with atropine and pralidoxime (2-PAM) on rat kidneys. Male Wistar albino rats were assigned to four groups. Group 1 received 30 mg/kg methamidophos, the LD50 for this compound in rats, via oral gavage. Group 2 received only physiologic saline. Gr...

To determine how knowledgeable physicians are regarding the toxic effects and drug interactions of herbal remedies. An anonymous voluntary demographic survey and 16-question, multiple-choice quiz was distributed at educational meetings of emergency medicine and internal medicine physicians. The primary outcome measures were to determine whether sig...

Ingestion of cyclic antidepressant medications or prolongation of the electrocardiographic QRS interval are commonly considered as contraindications to the use of physostigmine as an antidote for antimuscarinic toxicity. This dictum seems to stem from a few well-publicized cases in which administration of physostigmine was temporally associated wit...

A cluster of incidents in which non-tooth-paste products were used to brush teeth prompted a review of all calls to one Poison Control Center (PCC) regarding exposures to dental and oral-care products to determine if any resulted in significant toxicity. Retrospective review of 65,849 calls to one PCC during one calendar year. All inquiries about e...

We sought to assess physicians' ability to accurately determine the presence or absence of sodium fluorescein (SF) in urine at a concentration corresponding to that present after ingestion of a toxic amount of commercial automotive antifreeze. We studied 2 different urine specimen evaluation formats--one presenting isolated specimens, and the other...

Pyridoxine hydrochloride, the antidote for isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH)--induced seizures, is available in solution at a concentration of 100 mg/mL at a pH of less than 3. Pyridoxine is often infused rapidly in large doses for INH-induced seizures. Effects of pyridoxine infusion on base deficit in amounts given for INH poisoning have not been...

Background: Systemic scorpion envenomation may be associated with hypersalivation and respiratory distress. Atropine can dry secretions, but is not recommended for stings from many foreign scorpions, since it exacerbates adrenergic toxicity to the cardiopulmonary system. Serious adrenergic effects, however, are rare with Centruroides sculpturatus...

A 40-year-old man with a history of schizophrenia and inflammatory soft tissue lesions after self-injection of elemental mercury presented to the Emergency Department. Multiple skin abscesses associated with fever required operative debridement. An incidental finding of oral mercury ingestion was followed clinically and did not result in complicati...

A 40-year-old man with a history of schizophrenia and inflammatory soft tissue lesions after self-injection of elemental mercury presented to the Emergency Department. Multiple skin abscesses associated with fever required operative debridement. An incidental finding of oral mercury ingestion was followed clinically and did not result in complicati...

Numerous studies have shown the futility of continued emergency department (ED) resuscitative efforts for victims of out-of hospital cardiac arrest when prehospital resuscitation has failed. Nevertheless, these patients continue to arrive in the ED, where they create a strain on resources. To assess the economic cost of this, Medicare expenditures...

To the Editor: Even after suffering potentially fatal injuries, venomous snakes are capable of injuring humans. Klauber performed experiments showing that rattlesnake heads are dangerous for 20 to 60 minutes after decapitation.1 We prospectively collected data on patients admitted to our toxicology referral center for rattlesnake bites. Thirty-four...

A 41-year-old woman ingested apricot kernels purchased at a health food store and became weak and dyspneic within 20 minutes. The patient was comatose and hypothermic on presentation but responded promptly to antidotal therapy for cyanide poisoning. She was later treated with a continuous thiosulfate infusion for persistent metabolic acidosis. This...

Episodic vasomotor instability with flushing is an uncommon presentation that is suggestive of an endocrine etiology. This report is the case of a 42-year-old woman who presented to the ED 5 times in a 2-week period for recurrent, self-limited episodes of light-headedness associated with tachycardia, hypertension, and flushing. The patient's diagno...