Clinical toxicology--past, present and future.

1. The alarming increase in the incidence of self-poisoning in Western countries in the 1950s prompted the establishment of the National Poisons Information Service in the UK and the designation of certain Regional Poisoning Treatment Centres. 2. The substances taken in acute poisoning episodes largely reflect the poisons available in the community and, in the UK at least, have changed with fashions in prescribing although psychotropic drugs and analgesics always predominate. 3. Intensive supportive care with repeat-dose oral activated charcoal and even haemoperfusion has been proved effective in acute poisoning with central nervous depressant drugs such as barbiturates even though these latter drugs are now rarely encountered in overdose. 4. Other advances in clinical toxicology include the introduction of the opiate antagonist naloxone, Fab antibody fragments for life-threatening digoxin overdosage and proven treatment for paracetamol poisoning. Analytical toxicology has also made a major contribution. 5. On the debit side, formal psychiatric assessment of patients after acute poisoning remains contentious, tricyclic antidepressants are still a major problem and there is no effective treatment for poisoning with paraquat or for paracetamol when presentation is delayed. 6. As to the future, although the 'epidemic' of serious acute poisoning of the 1960s and 70s appears to be past its peak, there will always be unusual and serious problems and the UK poisons information services must develop to make the best use of computer-based technology.