title: Availability of antidotes for the treatment of acute poisoning in Queensland public hospitals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the sufficiency of stock levels of 13 antidotes in Queensland hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  A self-report survey was sent to 128 Queensland hospitals with acute care facilities. The stock level of the following antidotes was determined: acetylcysteine, anti-digoxin Fab antibodies (digibind), atropine, calcium gluconate, cyanokit, desferrioxamine, flumazenil, glucagon, intravenous ethanol, methylene blue, naloxone, pralidoxime and pyridoxine. Other factors sampled were bed capacity, rural, remote and metropolitan areas classification, use of formal stock reviews by pharmacists or nurses, existence of formal borrowing agreements with other facilities for non-stocked antidotes, distance to the nearest referral hospital and time taken to transfer antidotes from another hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pharmacists or nurses responsible for maintaining antidote stocks in Queensland hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Proportions of hospitals with sufficient antidote stock to treat a 70-kg adult for four or more hours using previously published guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Survey response rate was 73.4%. No hospital had sufficient stock of all 13 antidotes. The proportion of hospitals with sufficient stocks varied from 0% (pyridoxine) to 68.1% (acetylcysteine). Larger hospitals had a higher frequency of sufficient antidote stocks. Only 16% of hospitals claimed to be able to acquire an antidote from another facility within 30 min.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most Queensland hospitals stocked some important antidotes, but few had sufficient stock to treat a 70-kg patient or acquire an antidote within the recommended time frame of 30 min. Specific antidote stocking guidelines might be required for Queensland hospitals. A formalised program for stock rotation with rural facilities should be explored.
authors.affiliation: University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Nissen
authors.forename: Kai Hang
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Anthea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Darren M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Roberts
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000931:Antidotes / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D011041:Poisoning / Q000628:therapy*; D011793:Queensland
chemical_list: D000931:Antidotes