The Availability of Antidotes in Public Hospitals in Kuwait: A Cross Sectional Survey

Poisoned patients are managed by supportive measures and/or by the use of specific antidotes. Antidotes can offer significant advantages over supportive measures alone in many poisoned patients. The term ‘antidote’ is used to refer to any agent used to chelate the toxin, enhance its elimination, neutralize its effect, or ameliorate future complications, rather than just a pure pharmacological antagonist [1]. Antidotes are lifesaving, for example following digoxin or cyanide poisoning and must be available at the appropriate time to be effective.However, it has been reported globally that there is insufficient local availability of essential antidotes, which is of concern as poisoning with certain agents is associated with severe morbidity and mortality [2-8].