ABSTRACT
Drug poisoning, either deliberate or accidental, accounts for a significant portion of healthcare resources. According to statistics published by the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), there are annually about 2 million cases of overdose in the USA;1-13 adding the undeclared cases and the ones who die before receiving medical care, the actual number is probably over 5 million. About 85% are accidental, 10% are deliberate, and 5% are consequent to therapeutic errors. Furthermore, poisonings represent about 10-15% of total intensive care unit (ICU) admissions.14
