New insights into root causes of pediatric accidental unsupervised ingestions of over-the-counter medications.

CONTEXT: Changes to regulations, packaging, and labeling and ongoing educational efforts are intended to support appropriate use of medicines. Yet annually poison centers receive > 500 000 reports of accidental or unsupervised exposure to medicines for children under 6 years of age. OBJECTIVE: To identify root (i.e., fundamental and preventable) causes of accidental unsupervised ingestions (AUIs), we designed a questionnaire and conducted a follow-up survey of caregivers who contacted McNeil Consumer Healthcare (McNeil) following an AUI by a child under 12 years of age. METHODS: Reports received between 1 October 2008 and 22 January 2009 were screened retrospectively for specific Medical Dictionary of Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) Preferred Terms relating to AUIs. Using the questionnaire, we collected information about the child, caregiver, medicines involved in AUI, management of AUI, and storage location of medicines. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty reports met inclusion criteria and attempts to contact these caregivers were made throughout a 2-week period in March 2009; caregivers completed the questionnaire for 45 reports. All AUIs occurred in children under 7 years and 56% were boys. In 56% of AUI cases, the child involved was the intended recipient of the medicine; in 71%, a pediatric medicine was involved. Most AUIs occurred in the child's home; most caregivers reported not observing the AUI. Sixty percent of caregivers reported that the medicine involved in AUI was not in the normal storage location when AUI occurred. Among children involved in AUIs, 84% did not experience any symptoms. Seven children experienced mild, self-limiting symptoms which resolved. AUIs often occurred < 24 h after last therapeutic use when the medicine was removed from its normal storage location. CONCLUSIONS: These new insights may help guide-targeted interventions and educational efforts to focus caregivers' attention to reengaging childproofing mechanisms and returning medicines to a secure location, high and out of sight, immediately after use.

Research applications of selected 123I-labeled neuroreceptor SPECT imaging ligands.

Neuroreceptor imaging is a promising area of brain imaging used to investigate various neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. In the research setting, radiopharmaceuticals targeted to specific areas of the brain are used along with SPECT to assess and analyze functional mechanisms within brain structures. Utilization of the data that are collected from these studies may aid in the development of drug therapies that can be used to relieve symptoms or delay progression of certain disease states. After reading this article, the nuclear medicine technologist should be able to identify and describe the role of structures in the brain, identify various radiopharmaceuticals used and the disease states they demonstrate, and become familiar with the drugs used in treatment of these disorders.