From the Journals
Coagulopathy outbreak underscores danger of synthetic cannabinoids
Four patients died after developing spontaneous intracranial bleeding.
The dangers of synthetic drugs and heroin, and the opioid epidemic, are hitting emergency departments hard. A lack of guidelines and poor presentation to follow-up care make treatment decisions difficult. Pockets of outbreaks emerge when dangerous toxins are added to already dangerous drugs. One such regional outbreak occurred in March 2018 when synthetic cannabinoids laced with superwarfarin were led to 150 patients presenting to hospitals with severe coagulopathy in Illinois.
ACEP18 will feature a plethora of toxicology presentations and workshops , such as “Emergency Toxicology: Emerging Trends – Cases in Poisoning Management” on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 8 am, led my Patrick M. Lank, MD, FACEP . Dr. Lark, an emergency medicine specialist in Chicago, will also be leading “Critical Update in Toxicology 2018" on Monday, Oct. 1, at 12:30 pm and “FAST FACTS: High-Yield Toxicology,” on Monday, at 4:30 pm.