Stefanie Geith

Background: A Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) ≤ 8 is frequently used to guide prehospital intubation, but its generalizability to acutely poisoned patients is uncertain. We compared outcomes of poisoned patients with GCS ≤ 8 managed with or without prehospital intubation. Methods: We retrospectively included poisoned patients with a GCS ≤ 8 found as helpless persons in public settings and admitted to a tertiary toxicology center. Patients were grouped by prehospital intubation status. Clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes were analyzed using nonparametric and categorical tests, the analyses were exploratory due to the limited sample size. Results: Among 84 patients, 10 (11.9%) were intubated prehospitally, and 74 (88.1%) were not. Median GCS was lower in intubated patients (3 vs. 7). Aspiration pneumonitis in non-intubated patients was rare (6.8%) and did not differ significantly between groups. Vasopressor therapy within 24 h was required in one of 74 (1.4%) non-intubated patients and two of 10 (20.0%) intubated patients. Antidotes were frequently administered, especially in non-intubated patients, predominantly in the prehospital setting. Two non-intubated patients (2.7%) required delayed mechanical ventilation. No deaths occurred. Conclusions: Non-intubated patients showed favorable outcomes with low complication rates and infrequent delayed intubations, while antidotes were frequently administered in both the prehospital and in-hospital settings. These results suggest that GCS alone may be insufficient to guide airway management in poisoning, supporting an individualized, clinically guided approach.

Background: Drug-induced psychosis (DIP) represents a complex clinical challenge, particularly among younger substance-using populations. Recent epidemiological data indicate increasing DIP prevalence and decreasing age at first presentation, underscoring its growing clinical and public health relevance. While DIP arises in the context of substance use, distinguishing transient episodes from emerging primary psychotic disorders remains difficult, and data on demographic and clinical variations are limited. Methods: We conducted a descriptive cohort study of 340 patients diagnosed with DIP (ICD-10: F1X.5) between 2010 and 2020 at two university hospitals in Germany. We collected data from all eligible cases (n = 170) from a toxicology department (Technical University of Munich, TUM), and from the same number of cases from a psychiatry department (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, LMU). Variables assessed included sociodemographic data, psychiatric symptoms, substance use (self-report and toxicology), comorbidities, and family history. Analyses included descriptive statistics, chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests, and Mann–Whitney U tests to examine group differences, and Cohen’s Kappa coefficients to quantify agreement between self-reported and toxicologically confirmed substance use. Results: The cohort was predominantly male (77.4%) with a median age of 27 years. Migration background was present in 27.6%, with admissions peaking in 2015–2018. Psychotic symptoms were dominated by perceptual disturbances (62.3%) and thought disorder (76.3%). Women exhibited higher rates of tactile hallucinations, suicidal ideation, and depression (all p < 0.05) and tended to have higher serum ethanol levels. Daily substance use was common (69.0%), with polysubstance use exceeding 75%. Cannabis and stimulants predominated in younger patients, while opiates, sedatives, and ethanol were more frequent in older groups. Self-reported substance use showed fair to good agreement with toxicological findings, with the highest concordance for opiates and lower agreement for sedatives and ethanol. Conclusion: DIP showed clear gender- and age-related differences in psychotic symptom profiles and clinical presentation, alongside high rates of daily and polysubstance use, young male predominance, and migration-related patterns. These findings underscore the need for early, individualized, and demographically informed interventions.

Purpose: To analyze whether sociodemographic characteristics influence the substance choice and preclinical and clinical course of suicidal poisoning. Methods: This was a retrospective single-center study in patients hospitalized due to suicidal poisoning and who received at least one psychiatric exploration during their inpatient stay. Patients’ sociodemographic, anamnestic, preclinical, and clinical parameters were analyzed with respect to sex and age. Results: 1090 patients were included, 727 (67%) were females, median age was 39 years (min–max: 13–91) with 603 (55%) aged 18–44 years. 595 patients (54.8%) ingested a single substance for self-poisoning, 609 (59.5%) used their own long-term medication. Comparing to males, females preferred antidepressants (n = 223, 30.7%, vs n = 85, 23.4%; p = 0.013) and benzodiazepines (n = 202, 27.8%, vs n = 65, 17.9%; p < 0.001); males more often used cardiovascular drugs (n = 33, 9.1%, vs n = 34, 4.7%; p = 0.005) and carbon monoxide (n = 18, 5.0%, vs n = 2, 0.3%; p < 0.001). Use of Z-drugs (n = 1, 1.7%, to n = 37, 33.3%; p < 0.001) and benzodiazepines (n = 4, 6.9%, to n = 33, 29.7%; p = 0.003) increased with age (< 18 to > 64 years), while use of non-opioid analgesics (n = 23, 39.7%, to n = 20, 18.0%; p < 0.001) decreased. Average dose of substance in patients > 64 years was 12.9 ± 18.4 times higher than recommended maximum daily dose (compared to 8.7 ± 15.2 higher in those aged < 18 years; p < 0.001). Males more often required intensive care (n = 150, 41.3%, vs n = 205 females, 28.2%; p < 0.001). Conclusion: These results underline the complexity of (para-)suicidal poisonings and identify potential measures for their prevention, such as restricting access and better oversight over the use of certain substances.

Background: Toxicological analysis of patients with acute recreational drug poisoning can improve our understanding of substance use patterns, clinical symptoms, and improve treatment. Patient history alone may be incomplete or misleading. The objective was to assess the differences in patient history and analytical results, to describe the clinical characteristics, implications and hospital management, and to describe the drug use pattern over time. Methods: A retrospective study including all patients admitted to our toxicology unit with recreational drug toxicity and analytical testing from October 2014 to December 2022. Results: 872 patients were included. Patient history revealed a median of one ingested substance class: opiates/opioids, benzodiazepines/Z-drugs, and Pregabalin were predominant. Urine analysis revealed a median of three ingested substance classes (p < 0.001). Benzodiazepines/Z-drugs, Pregabalin, and THC were severely underreported. Agitation and aggression, anxiety, hallucinations, and psychosis were frequent, associated with cocaine, cathinone/phenethylamine, and amphetamine/MDMA detection and required sedation. Coma was also frequent, associated with opiate/opioid, benzodiazepine/Z-drug, GBL/GHB, and Pregabalin detection and required intubation, and/or application of Naloxone and/or Flumazenil. Twelve patients arrived in cardiac arrest; all were positive for opiates/opioids. Four patients died: three with Benzodiazepines/Z-drugs, Pregabalin and opiates/opioids detected, one with cathinones/phenethylamines detected. While cathinones/phenethylamines and synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists were mainly detected between 2014–2016, detection decreased significantly between 2017–2022 after NPS legislation passed. Pregabalin detection increased. Conclusions: Patient history is inaccurate, and patients frequently underreport ingested drugs. Opiates and opioids are still the main cause of morbidity and mortality. Pregabalin is increasingly abused. NPS legislation effectively decreased cathinone/phenethylamine and synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist overdoses.

Objective: To independently validate the negative predictive value of the Tanta University risk model for intensive care requirements in poison center telephone consultations with other physicians. Methods: This study included 400 consecutive patients with acute poisoning. Clinical and laboratory parameters were recorded during the initial consultation with the poison center. Patients who were already ventilated or on vasopressors at the time of consultation were excluded. The Tanta University risk model score was calculated from the data according to the following equation: Tanta University risk model score = 1.966*Glasgow Coma Scale + 0.329*oxygen saturation (percent) + 0.212*diastolic blood pressure (mmHg) - 0.27*respiratory rate (breaths/minute) + 0.33*standard bicarbonate (mmol/L). Twenty-four hours later, the patients' courses were followed up by telephone. The Tanta University risk model was then compared to a composite endpoint indicating the requirement for admission to an intensive care unit (vasopressors, need for intubation, or death). Results: Four hundred patients with acute poisoning were included. Thirty-seven patients had a complicated clinical course as defined by the composite endpoint. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed the area under the curve to be 0.87 (95 percent confidence interval 0.83-0.90). An unfavorable Tanta University risk model score was defined as less than 73.46, using a cut-off derived from a previous study of an unrelated series of patients with acute poisoning admitted to our service. Thirty-one of 37 patients with complicated courses had an unfavorable Tanta University risk model score compared to six patients with complicated courses among 306 patients with a favorable Tanta University risk model score (P < 0.0002, Fisher's exact test). Sixty-three patients had an unfavorable Tanta University risk model score but an uneventful course. The negative predictive value of the Tanta University risk model was 0.98 (95 percent confidence interval 0.96-0.99), sensitivity was 0.84, and specificity 0.83. Conclusions: In the present study of poison center telephone consultations, the Tanta University risk model was significantly related to the outcomes in patients with acute poisoning. Patients with a favorable Tanta University risk model score (greater than or equal to 73.46) were unlikely to need intensive care unit level of care.

To independently validate the predictive value of the Tanta University Risk Model for intensive care requirement in unselected poisoned patients.Retrospective chart review of 293 poisoned patients....

Artificial intelligences (AIs) are emerging in the field of medical informatics in many areas. They are mostly used for diagnosis support in medical imaging but have potential uses in many other fi...

Prediction of clinical course of intoxication is essential for timely initiation of appropriate medical treatment in patients hospitalized due to suicidal self-poisoning. In this retrospective single-centre study in patients hospitalized due to suicidal poisoning in a specialized clinical toxicology unit, we aimed to identify predictive factors associated with severe or fatal course of self-poisoning. All patients underwent at least one psychiatric exploration during their inpatient stay. Severity of poisoning was assessed on admission and after 24 hours according to the Poison Severity Score index (PSS). Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to test the association of PSS with sociodemographic, anamnestic and (pre-)clinical parameters. Multivariable binomial logistic regression analysis was performed to determine predictive factors for severe and/or fatal self-poisoning. 1090 patients were included in the study. Median age was 39 years (range 13–91), 66.7% of patients were female. PSS was classified in the majority as “minor” (n = 558, 51.2%) or “moderate” (n = 264, 24.2%). 61 patients (5.6%) had PSS “severe”; 14 patients (1.3%) died. A higher severity of poisoning positively correlated with duration of inpatient therapy (p<0.001, Spearman’s rho = 0.454) and duration of ventilation (p<0.001, rho = 0.474), and it inversely correlated with initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (p<0.001, rho = -0.437). Multivariable analysis identified no alcohol co-ingestion (OR 3.23; 95%CI 1.3, 8.07; p = 0.012) and self-poisoning with non-medicinal substances (OR 5.4; 95%CI 1.78, 16.34; p = 0.003) as factors predictive for “severe” or “fatal” suicide outcome. In contrast, female gender (OR 0.4; 95%CI 0.2, 0.81; p = 0.011), not using an antidepressant as the method for self-poisoning (OR 0.27; 95%CI 0.12, 0.59; p = 0.001) and a higher initial GCS score (OR 0.79; 95%CI 0.73, 0.85; p<0.001) reduced the risk of a severe or fatal course of self-poisoning. The conclusion for clinical practice is that male patients hospitalized due to self-poisoning, with a low initial GCS score, who did not co-ingest alcohol, attempted suicide with non-pharmaceutical substances or antidepressants are at a higher risk of severe/fatal outcome of suicide. Determination of these risk factors at admission could be potentially used to guide treatment intensification in patients hospitalized due to deliberate self-poisoning.

Objective: To identify the psychiatric profile of patients hospitalized due to self-intoxication associated with suicide-related behavior (SRB). Methods: In this retrospective single-center study, records of consecutive patients treated for suicidal poisoning in our Clinical Toxicology unit between 1st January 2012 and 31st December 2016, who received at least one psychiatric exploration during their inpatient stay, were analyzed with regard to epidemiological data, ingested substances, psychiatric and somatic comorbidities, suicidal circumstances and follow-up therapy. Results: Out of 1289 hospitalized patients, 1090 patients with complete data were analyzed. Mean age was 40.5 ± 17.2 years, 66.7% were female. 32.0% of patients had previously engaged in SRB, in 76.3% intention was suicidal. 64.7% of patients had a pre-existing psychiatric disorder (PD). Patients with a pre-existing PD more often displayed prior SRB than those without PD (40.7% vs 15.3%; p < 0.001; Fisher′s exact test), used long-term/on demand medication (70.2% vs 38.9%; p < 0.001), distanced themselves from the current suicide attempt (65.9% vs 50.8%; p < 0.001) and had no detectable trigger (38.7% vs 18.1%; p < 0.001). Partnership conflict was the most commonly named trigger, and it was documented more often in patients without than in those with PD (41.6% vs 25.6%). After psychiatric reevaluation, most patients were diagnosed with mood disorders (29.7%) and stress disorders (17.0%); 32.8% of patients had a combination of two or more PDs. Conclusion: Hospitalization due to self-poisoning is associated with pre-existing PD, prior SRB and access to psychiatric medication. Detection of these risk factors could allow timely introduction of effective preventive measures tailored to particularly vulnerable subgroups and appropriate relief. However, lack of a detectable trigger in many cases may hamper the identification of those at risk.