ABSTRACT
As discussed in Chapter 6 covering acute toxicity studies, the shorter duration of exposure in acute studies allows monitoring of the effects of a chemical at high doses in an abbreviated time period. Such acute exposures occur in a variety of circumstances, particularly in emergency, occupational, environmental, and domestic settings. More frequently, clinical toxicology has shown that acute exposures to drugs of abuse and therapeutic drugs are of major international concern and treatment of accidental or intentional overdoses poses a significant challenge. For purposes of comparison, however, as much toxicity occurs with extended interactions with lower non-fatal concentrations of chemicals as occurs with short intense exposures.
