Introduction of a New Toxicology Consult Service in a Large Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital

Clinical toxicology is not a certified specialty in Israel, consequently there are a limited number of toxicologists and toxicology services available for consultation.

To establish a medical toxicology consultation service focusing on bedside consultations, which had not previously been available in Israel.

This single-center, retrospective chart review of toxicology consults was conducted during the first years after the initiation of a new toxicology service.

From September 2017 to December 2021, 1703 toxicology consultations were conducted. The most common exposures and reasons for consultation included psychotropic medications (427, 23%), analgesics and anti-inflammatory medications (353, 19%), household products (312, 17%), substances of abuse (240, 13%), and natural toxins (142, 8%). Bedside medical toxicology consultations were performed in 1036 cases (62%) during daytime and night shifts. The number of consultation requests increased steadily over the study period.

The new toxicology service led to a significant change in the institution's approach to toxicological patients. A bedside toxicology service could help reduce the healthcare burden on national poison centers and can offer readily available, personalized, medical toxicology care.