Medical response

Ethic variations in medication responses include differences in therapeutic responses and susceptibility to adverse effects. Such differences are attributable mostly to two aspects, the variation of enzyme activities for the metabolism of medications, and variations of the drugs interactions with target binding sites. 

Includes a wide range of information such as toxicology, characteristics, hazards, protection, and medical response... 

First, determine patient responsiveness. If there is no response, immediately activate the emergency medical response team and obtain an automated external defibrillator (AED) if one is available. 

DOD Marine Corps Chemical Biological Incident Response Force, DOD Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, DOD Naval Medical Research Institute, HHS National Medical Response Teams, HHS Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, HHS Metropolitan Medical Strike Teams, HHS Experts from Public Health Safety agencies, DOE Radiation Emergency Assistance Center and Training Site. 

Building a Systems Approach for Health and Medical Response to Acts of NBC Terrorism. Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), 1996. 

IOM/NRC, Chemical and Biological Terrorism Research and Development to Improve Civilian Medical Response, Institute of Medicine/National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1999. 

Study approval Medical responsibilities Notification of general practitioner Consent... 

As many as 10% of children have a medication-responsive psychiatric disorder (Riddle et ah, 1998) and there has been a dramatic increase in the use of psychotropic medication to treat mental disorders in youth (Rappley et ah, 1999). Multiple factors account for this increase, including scientific advances in fields such as epidemiology, nosology, neuroscience, drug development, and clinical measurements, and efforts to educate the public about the benefits of early, effective treatment. Despite large gaps between research and practice, many medications are used in children on the basis of a small amount of scientific data. Factors that contribute to this situation are societal desires for rapid, effective treatment, acceptance of medication as a therapeutic modality, and a reimbursement climate in which there is increased pressure for brief treatment. Clearly there is a need to balance clinical and administrative pressures with a resort to treatment based on the best available data. 

James D. R. Knight, Rashmi Kothary, Bin Qian, and David Baker describe the structure of many protein kinases, which play an important role in a patient s drug and medication responses. 

In a similar study, Petrie et al. (1982) studied the effectiveness of halo-peridol and loxapine in the same type of patients. The conclusion was that, although the improvement of the psychotic symptomatology was evident, the global improvement of life quality was not that evident. The authors suggested that the medication response in elderly patients with dementia and psychotic symptoms was much inferior to the one observed in young patients with schizophrenia. R. Barnes et al. (1982) carried out a similarly designed study and found an improvement in only one-third of the treated patients. However, that sample was oriented not only to psychotic symptoms (delusions and hallucinations) but also to disruptive behaviors in general. 

Stoll AL, Cohen BM, Snyder MB, et al Erythrocyte choline concentration in bipolar disorder a predictor of clinical course and medication response. Biol Psychiatry 29 1171-1180, 1991... 

The TCA clomipramine and the SSRls provide the foundation of the pharmacological treatment for OCD. Although pharmacotherapy is effective against many other Axis 1 disorders, most patients with OCD experience only a 35%-60% improvement in symptoms. In addition, medication responses may not be apparent until treatment has been administered for 10 weeks, and some patients will require higher doses than are typically used to treat depression. As in the treatment of depression, SSRls tend to be better tolerated than TCAs (clomipramine is the only effective TCA for OCD). 

Most people take prescription medications responsibly however, an estimated... 

Soldatos et al. (1986) reported on serious adverse drug reactions in all five psychiatric inpatients during a clinical trial of 0.5 mg triazolam and placebo. The patients and nurses were blind in the study, but not the physician with medical responsibility for the patients. The study consisted of 1 week of placebo baseline, 2 weeks of triazolam administration, and 1 week of withdrawal on placebo. All five patients developed severe reactions to triazolam. Case 1 developed anxiety and hallucinations on the last two days of triazolam administration and the first withdrawal day. Case 2 had a sudden increase in anxiety and became irritable, uncooperative, and depressed. She became withdrawn and cried, and showed considerable impairment of memory and orientation. On withdrawal of triazolam, she became more incoherent, expressing paranoid ideas of persecution that persisted about a week. She required Haldol to control her delusions. Case 3 developed severe insomnia during withdrawal and reported considerable anxiety and irritability along with an uncontrollable fear of death, which persisted to the next day when she additionally manifested a marked degree of memory impairment. Case 4, by... 

Luchins D, Lewine R, Meltzer H. 1984. Lateral ventricular size, psychopathology, and medication response in the psychoses. Biol Psychiatry 19 29-44. 

The reader should note that writing a chapter on federal health and medical response at this point in history is difficult because of the current transitional nature of these systems, as evidenced by the following factors ... 

Activates NDMS, PHS, and other medical response capabilities. 

Providing available logistical support to health/ medical response operations. 

The foundation of ESF 8 is the multiagency National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). Directed by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the NDMS has the following three primary functional elements medical response, patient evacuation, and hospitalization. 

Medical response. NDMS responds to a disaster area with disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs),... 

Action Provide federal medical response assets and individual public health and medical personnel to assist in providing care for ill or injured victims at the location of a disaster or emergency. DMATs and Federal Medical Shelters can provide triage, medical or surgical stabilization, and continued monitoring and care of patients until they can be evacuated to locations where they will... 

Emergency health services (EHS) constitutes a critical element of the medical response to disasters and their planning is a key component of community disaster preparedness. This chapter reviews the characteristics of... 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (1992). The Metropolitan Medical Response System. Federal Response Plan (Pub. L. No. 93-288). Retrieved February 10, 2006, from https //www.mmrs.fema.gov/default.aspx... 

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