Poison control center

After World War II there was a proliferation of new drugs and chemicals in the marketplace, and consequently suicide and childhood poisonings from these agents drastically increased. Around this time up to half of all accidents in children were poisonings with a substantial number of fatalities. These factors led to the medical community developing a response to both unintentional and intentional poisonings. In Europe in the late 1940s special toxicology wards were set up; initial wards were started in Copenhagen and Budapest, and the Netherlands began a poison information service. In the United States during the 1930s, Louis Gdalman, a pharmacist knowledgeable in the chemistry of harmful substances, set up a poison information service at St. Luke's Hospital (Chicago, Illinois). He became known around Chicago and the country as the person to contact in a poisoning case and would take calls at home around the clock. In the late 1940s, Gdalman began to organize the poison information onto note cards and created a standardized form to collect new information on new toxic substances. By 1953 he had collected an extensive library of information on thousands of poisons and he established the first Poison Control Center along with Edward Press. By 1957 there were 17 poison control centers in the U.S., with the Chicago center serving as a model; these centers dealt mainly with physician enquiries by giving ingredient and toxicity information about products, along with treatment recommendations. Over time the poison control centers started taking calls from the general public. The majority of poison centers were not part of a patient treatment facility; they strictly provided information. In 1958 the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC) was founded to promote cooperation between poison centers in different cities and to standardize the operation of these centers. In 2022, AAPCC formally changed their name to America's Poison Centers. An additional part of the America's Poison Centers' activities is poison prevention and education programs for both physicians and the general public. In 1968 the American Academy of Clinical Toxicologists (AACT) was established by a group of medical doctors. The AACT's main objective was to apply principles of toxicology to patient treatment and improve the standard of care on a national basis. In the 1960s and 1970s a rapid proliferation of poison centers emerged and by 1978 there were 661 centers in the USA. This trend reversed during the 1980s and 1990s with a number of centers closing or merging. In 2000 there were 51 certified centers in the USA. As of 2006 there are 55 centers operating in the US. A 2019 study conducted for America's Poison Centers showed that every dollar invested in the poison center system saves $13.39 in health care costs and productivity. While poison control centers have traditionally provided expert consultations by telephone, on 30 December 2014 an online option was launched by a group of U.S. poison centers to meet the growing demand for accurate web-based health information. Based on age, weight, amount, route, symptom status and substance implicated, it provides case-specific guidance for poison exposures. The webPOISONCONTROL application uses ingredient-based algorithms to generate a recommendation including whether an emergency department visit or call to poison control is required. If it's safe to stay home, then home treatment recommendations, specific symptoms to expect, and symptoms of greater concern that would require a call to poison control or a visit to an emergency department are outlined. Europe A similar movement evolved in Europe but unlike the American movement the majority were centralized toxicology treatment centers with integrated poison information centers. The French developed an inpatient unit for the treatment of poisoned patients in the late 1950s. In England the National Poison Information Service was developed at Guy's Hospital under Dr Roy Goulding. In 1964 the European Association for Poison Control Centers was formed at Tours, France. Australasian centers were also established in the 1960s. The New Zealand center started in Dunedin in December 1964, while in Australia, the New South Wales Poisons Information Center was established in 1966. Article 45 of the CLP Regulation places the duty upon Member States to appoint "bodies responsible for receiving information relating to emergency health response". These appointed bodies are often known as Poison Centres. In the EEA, since 2020–2025, hazardous product manufacturers are required to send the formulation of their products to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and to print a unique formula identifier (UFI) code on their products. This code lets poison centers know the exact formulation of a product, while the formulation is only shared to the ECHA and attached poison control centers. == Countries ==