Do hospitals in the 50 largest cities of the United States carry sufficient supply of the cyanide antidote kit?

In recent years, there has been growing concern for terrorism involving common industrial agents such as cyanide. Supply of the cyanide antidote kit (CAK) has not been reported in over 5 years and was limited to hospitals in one state or region. A nationwide survey was conducted in the 50 largest U....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical toxicology (Philadelphia, Pa.) Pa.), 2005-10, Vol.43 (6), p.713-714
Main Authors: Stanford, C F, Ries, N L, Bogdan, G M, Dart, R C
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In recent years, there has been growing concern for terrorism involving common industrial agents such as cyanide. Supply of the cyanide antidote kit (CAK) has not been reported in over 5 years and was limited to hospitals in one state or region. A nationwide survey was conducted in the 50 largest U.S. cities to determine CAK supply in areas of greatest potential terrorist impact. Pharmacies in hospitals with emergency departments (n = 1065) within the metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) of the 50 largest cities (2000 Census) were contacted to provide CAK supply and stocking practices. Twenty-four poison control centers assisted with the survey. Supply and usage were compared between geographical regions (West, Midwest, South, Northeast) using non-parametric methods. The overall response rate was 76% (n = 806). Of all responding hospitals, 90% carried a supply of at least one CAK. The proportion of hospitals with supply was highest in the Northeast (97%) and lowest in the South (83%). CAK supply level was greater in the Northeast relative to hospitals in other regions (p
ISSN:1556-3650