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The first line of response for people who self‐poison: exploring the options for gut decontamination
Author(s) -
Clegg Theresa,
Hope Kevin
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of advanced nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.948
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1365-2648
pISSN - 0309-2402
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2648.1999.01237.x
Subject(s) - perspective (graphical) , human decontamination , first line , emergency response , medical emergency , medicine , incident response , variety (cybernetics) , nursing , business , computer security , computer science , artificial intelligence , pathology
The first line of response for people who self‐poison: exploring the options for gut decontamination The trend for increasing numbers of self‐poisoning incidents has been noted and a variety of policy initiatives have been launched. Nurses, particularly in emergency room environments occupy a pivotal place in the chain of response to such acts. Any such response needs to be firmly rooted in evidence‐based practice yet the initial management of self‐poisoning often involves a consideration of procedures, the application of which can vary enormously. This paper offers some contextual information prior to a critical perspective of management modes, namely emesis, lavage, the use of activated charcoal and whole bowel irrigation. A comparison of the relative advantages and disadvantages of each mode precedes suggestions for nursing practice.