Credits Hours: 1.25

Course Description:
In present day medicine, prescription medications have become the mainstay in the treatment of most chronic medical conditions. Medication toxicity related to such drugs is a major problem for many reasons including self-administration in a non-clinical setting, medication interaction, and changes in physiologic processes like liver and kidney function. Medication toxicity is an important topic to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) since the signs and symptoms can be nonspecific and vague, but nevertheless represent a life threatening condition. This course presents general principles of toxicity as well as commonly prescribed medications that hold a high potential for toxicity. General and specific care for toxic patients is also presented.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

• Describe toxicity and the different causal mechanisms by which toxicity can occur.
• Describe the different pharmacokinetic parameters and processes in relation to medications taken by mouth.
• Synthesize assessment findings, including the identification of specific medications prone to toxicity and their clinical presentation, to recognize toxicity and clinical impact.
• Formulate an appropriate care plan for the toxic patient based on assessment findings, causal medication, and clinical presentation.