Case files of the toxikon medical toxicology fellowship in Chicago: the poisoned anesthesiologist.

Suicide attempts by health care workers are very serious because these patients have the knowledge of and access to potentially lethal substances. Our patient presented with hypotension and hemodynamic instablility. He was treated with multiple-dose activated charcoal and 2 rounds of hemodialysis. While there was rapid toxicokinetic improvement and extubation on day 2 of his hospital stay, he had prolonged altered mental status, illustrating the long-acting effects of phenobarbital. It remains unclear exactly how our medical treatment regimens alter the clinical course of phenobarbital poisoning. We are indebted to Clemmesen and Nilsson for their description of the Scandinavian Method and the resulting reduction in morbidity from sedative-hypnotic poisoning. Further research is needed to define the precise clinical benefit achieved from additional therapeutic modalities in treating such poisonings.