Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating exposures to toxins and toxicants. The relationship between dose and its effects on the exposed organism is of high significance in toxicology. Factors that influence chemical toxicity include the dosage, duration of exposure, route of exposure, species, age, sex, and environment. Toxicologists are experts on poisons and poisoning. There is a movement for evidence-based toxicology as part of the larger movement towards evidence-based practices. Toxicology is currently contributing to the field of cancer research, since some toxins can be used as drugs for killing tumor cells. One prime example of this is ribosome-inactivating proteins, tested in the treatment of leukemia.
Syrup of ipecac, commonly referred to as ipecac, is a drug that was once widely used as an expectorant and a rapid-acting emetic. It is obtained from the dried rhizome and roots of the ipecacuanha plant, from which it derives its name. It is no longer used in medicine.
Chelation therapy is a medical procedure that involves the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. Chelation therapy has a long history of use in clinical toxicology and remains in use for some very specific medical treatments, although it is administered under very careful medical supervision due to various inherent risks, including the mobilization of mercury and other metals through the brain and other parts of the body by the use of weak chelating agents that unbind with metals before elimination, exacerbating existing damage. To avoid mobilization, some practitioners of chelation use strong chelators, such as selenium, taken at low doses over a long period of time.
A poison control center is a medical service that is able to provide immediate, free, and expert treatment advice and assistance over the telephone in case of exposure to poisonous or hazardous substances. Poison control centers answer questions about potential poisons in addition to providing treatment management advice about household products, medicines, pesticides, plants, bites and stings, food poisoning, and fumes. In the US, more than 72% of poison exposure cases are managed by phone, greatly reducing the need for costly emergency department and doctor visits.
Clinical ecology was the name given by proponents in the 1960s to a claim that exposure to low levels of certain chemical agents harm susceptible people, causing multiple chemical sensitivity and other disorders. Clinical ecologists are people that support and promote this offshoot of conventional medicine. They often have a background in the field of allergy or otorhinolaryngology, and the theoretical approach is derived in part from classic concepts of allergic responses, first articulated by Theron Randolph and developed by Richard Mackarness.
Board certification is the process by which a physician or other professional demonstrates a mastery of advanced knowledge and skills through written, practical, or simulator-based testing.
The American College of Medical Toxicology is a professional association of medical toxicologists that was founded in 1993. Its aim is to support quality medical care for persons exposed to potentially harmful chemicals, and to provide training and insight to the physicians who provide this care.
Clinical Toxicology is a peer-reviewed medical journal of clinical toxicology. It is published by Taylor and Francis and is the official journal of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, the European Association of Poisons Centres and Clinical Toxicologists, the American Association of Poison Control Centers and the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Toxicology. The editor-in-chief is Steven A. Seifert. The journal is published in 12 issues per year in simultaneous print and online editions.
Medical toxicology is a subspecialty of medicine focusing on toxicology and providing the diagnosis, management, and prevention of poisoning and other adverse effects due to medications, occupational and environmental toxicants, and biological agents. Medical toxicologists are involved in the assessment and treatment of a wide variety of problems, including acute or chronic poisoning, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), drug overdoses, envenomations, substance abuse, industrial accidents, and other chemical exposures.
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM), founded in 1965 as the Society for Clinical Ecology, is an international association of physicians and associated professionals interested in the clinical aspects of ecological or environmental illnesses, which is called clinical ecology. The academy aims for recognition of ecologic illness as a medical diagnosis.
William Joel Meggs is a board-certified internal medicine and emergency medicine physician, allergist and immunologist, and medical toxicologist with "interests in envenomations, antidotes, and environmental toxicology. Meggs currently practices in Greenville, NC, where he is a professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of the Division of Toxicology and at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. His contributions to research have been recognized by his receiving the American College of Medical Toxicology 2010 award for outstanding contributions to toxicology research. He has been awarded fellowship status by the American College of Emergency Medicine and American College of Medical Toxicology for his contributions to advancing knowledge in these fields.
Ravindra Fernando is a Sri Lankan forensic pathologist, toxicologist, physician, author and academic. He is the current chairman of the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board of Sri Lanka.
Jeffrey A. Brent is a medical toxicologist who is a distinguished clinical professor of medicine and emergency medicine at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine. In addition, he is a professor at the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Colorado School of Public Health. He is also the past president of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, was editor in chief of the journal Toxicological Reviews, and was a member of the board of directors of the American College of Medical Toxicology. Previously, most of Brent's research focused on the use of fomepizole as a treatment for both methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning, and he led a trial of this drug which resulted in the FDA approving it in December 1997. Currently, Brent serves as Director of the Toxicology Investigators Consortium, an NIH and FDA supported multi center research and surveillance group. Brent is also a senior editor of "Critical Care Toxicology: Diagnosis and Management of the Critically Poisoned Patient," originally published in 2005, and now in its second edition, which was published in 2017.
Steven A. Seifert was an American medical toxicologist. He was a professor of emergency medicine at the University of New Mexico, as well as the medical director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center. Since 2017, he was the editor-in-chief of Clinical Toxicology. He was also a jazz tenor saxophonist.
John Doull, was Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Kansas.
Barry H. Rumack is an American medical toxicologist and pediatrician. His primary clinical and research interest has been in clinical toxicology with a special interest in acetaminophen poisoning. Since 2014 he is Emeritus Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Frank LoVecchio is an American emergency medicine physician, medical toxicologist, academic and researcher. He is the medical director of Clinical Research at College of Health Solutions, the Director of Good Samaritan Regional Poison Center, the Research Director of Maricopa Medical Center Emergency Medicine Program, and clinical professor at Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine. He also serves as an attending physician at Valleywise Health, Phoenix Children's Hospital, and in the Department of Medical Toxicology at Banner University Medical Center.
Mahdi Balali-Mood is an Iranian medical toxicologist, and professor of medicine, clinical pharmacology and toxicology. He was awarded OPCW-The Hague Award in recognition of his pioneering work in clinical management of victims of chemicals weapons and dedicating his career to caring and advocating for the victims of chemical weapons. He is credited as the father of Toxicology of Iran.
Henry Johnston Scott Matthew FRCPE was a Scottish physician and toxicologist in charge of the Regional Poisoning Treatment Centre from 1964 and Director of the Scottish Poisons Information Bureau from 1965. Matthew changed his career path, concentrating on Toxicology in 1957 and was known as the Father of Clinical Toxicology.
The American Board of Applied Toxicology (ABAT) was created in 1985 by the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology. The board functions to recognize and credential clinical toxicologists who have demonstrated competence in the management of toxicity related to poisoning, overdose, chemical exposure, envenomation, or environmental exposures. Candidates for board certification are health professionals with minimum perquisite experience in poisoning and overdose management as well as satisfactory experience in other core areas such as toxicology research, public health, and outreach. The ABAT establishes minimum competency for clinical toxicologists via administering examinations and maintaining recertification of members. Successfully passing the ABAT board certification exam provides the taker a designation of Diplomate of the American Board of Applied Toxicology (DABAT). A DABAT designation privileges the clinical toxicologist to provide medical back up and consultation on poisoning, drug overdoses, or toxicity, often via poison centers. The designation also has legal implication in allowing credentialed toxicologists to manage a poison center in the United States. Credentialed DABAT members must recertify every 5 years via an application demonstrating continued competence and activity in toxicology.
