Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism: TICs & TIMs

Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism
Training Support Package
Participant Guide
Slide 54
Chemical Agents of Opportunity for Terrorism:
TICs & TIMs
Clues to Chemical Exposure
• Unusual number seeking care for chemical -related
illness
• Unexplained deaths among young, healthy people,
plants, animals
• Clusters of illness with common source (e.g. water)
– Surveillance methods including PCC, pharmacy sales
• Presence of a clinical pattern or toxidrome
Module One – Toxic Warfare: Looking Beyond Conventional Chemical Weapons
54
There are some key clues that may lead one to suspect a possible chemical exposure.
These include patterns where an unusually large number of patients seeking care for
possible chemically related illnesses, unexplained deaths among people, animals or
plants, and or the presence of a particular clinical pattern or toxidrome. Some of our
surveillance efforts are directed at early identification of these clues. These utilize
multiple resources including poison control centers (PCC) and pharmacy sales numbers
of items like nonprescription cold medications.
A toxidrome is a “toxicologic syndrome” which is a collection of clinical findings that
suggest as specific etiology and treatment. An example for this lecture series would be
the opioid toxidrome, discussed in the Neurotoxic syndromes talk. In this syndrome the
finding of depressed mental status, respiratory depression, and miosis (small pupils)
suggests the diagnosis and the therapy (ventilatory support and naloxone).
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