Trends in ipecac use: A survey of poison center staff

The steady decline in syrup of ipecac used by poisoned victims from a peak of 15% in 1985 to 2.3% in 1995 is of concern. A survey compared syrup of ip ecac use by CSPI, ABAT, and ABMT/ACMT members as the first response deconta mination. The survey asked CSPI, ABAT, and ABMT/ACMT members their professi onal opinion on the use of syrup of ipecac in a potentially toxic ingestion . The scenario was "Your 2-y-old child/grandchild accidentally ingested a p otentially lethal dose of poison (ie colchicine) 5 min ago and you have syr up of ipecac at home. Would you consider using it?" Of the 171 CSPI's who r esponded, 34.5% favored the use of syrup of ipecac while 63% were against a nd 2.3% needed more information. Of the 26 ABAT's who responded, 50% favore d it's use, 42.3% would not and 7.6% needed more information, From the 55 A BMT/ACMT members who responded, 81.8% would use ipecac while 18.1% would no t. ABMT/ACMT members favored the use of syrup of ipecac in this scenario (P < 0.005), while the CSPI's did not (P < 0.005), and the ABAT's did not hav e statistical difference. With CSPI's providing the treatment recommendatio ns from poison centers, it is important that ABMT/ACMT members influence th e recommended treatment protocols.