The overdosage and/or poisoning information gap

The availability of poisoning information from the pharmaceutical industry was evaluated. Manufacturers of the top 50 drugs were surveyed. Information that was received was classified by established criteria for evaluation. Compendia on poisoning information was evaluated based on 11 components ranging from toxicity information to information available in the PDR. Additional information on emergency telephone numbers for after-hours service was accumulated. The results showed that much of the information available is incomplete and/or outdated. A concerted effort to establish a central source for manufacturers' poison information needs to be begun.