Bioterrorism

Brooks NH, et al. ACC/AHA Guidelines for the management of patients with acute myocardial infarction. A comparison of immediate angioplasty with thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction: the Primary Angioplasty in Myocar-dial Infarction Study Group. A comparison of thrombolytic therapy with primary coronary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction: Myocardial Infarction Tri-Clinical experience with primary PTCA compared to altepase in patients with acute myocardial infarction. References 1. Gusto V Investigators. Reperfusion therapy for acute myocardial infarction with fibrinolytic therapy or combination reduced fibrinolytic therapy and platelet glycoprotein IIB/IIIA inhibition: the Gusto V randomized trial. Lancet. 2001;357:1905-14. 2. Assent III Investigators. Efficacy and safety of tenecteplase in combination with enoxaparin, abciximab, or unfractionated hep-arin: the Assent 3 randomized trial in acute myocardial infarction. Lancet 2001;358:605-13. 3. Fibrinolytic Therapy Trialists' Collaborative Group. Indications for fibrinolytic therapy in suspected acute myocardial infarction: collaborative overview of early mortality and major morbidity results from all randomized trials of more than 1000 patients. A clinical trial comparing primary coronary angioplasty with tissue plasminogen activator for acute myocar-dial infarction: the Global Use of Strategies to Open Occluded Relationship of symptom-onset-to-balloon time and door-to-balloon time with mortality in patients undergoing angioplasty for acute myocar-dial infarction. The effects of tissue plasmi-nogen activator, streptokinase, or both on coronary-artery pa-tency, ventricular function and survival after acute myocardial infarction. An international randomized trial comparing four thrombolytic strategies for acute myocardial infarction. Does PTCA in acute myocardial infarction affect mortality and reinfarction rates? A quantative overview (meta-analysis) of the randomized clinical trials. A, et al. Comparison of primary coronary angioplasty and intravenous thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction. A quantative review. Primary angioplasty versus intravenous thrombolysis for acute myocardial infarction. Because of the recent terrorist attacks in the United States there has been an increasing need for health care practitioners to have a fundamental knowledge in the agents of bioterrorism. Unlike traditional acts of overt terrorism, bioterrorism is covert. This means the effects of the attack will first be identified in the emergency department. This new threat, as evidenced by the recent exposures to anthrax, has illustrated the importance of physicians in diagnosing, treating, and educating patients on bioterrorism. The goal of this article is to set a framework for understanding the most important agents as designated by the CDC. The CDC has categorized the many agents of bioterrorism into categories A, B, and C. The A agents are felt to be the easiest …