This scientific article from the European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy details a survey of British Hospitals that demonstrates something Americans figured out years ago – antidote stocking is highly variable between hospitals and even between states. Poison Boy served on a national committee several years ago that sought to develop a series of recommendations as to which antidotes they need to have immediately (antidotes for cyanide and carbon monoxide and diabetes medications) versus antidotes that can be obtained in an hour or so (antidotes for acetaminophen [Tylenol] and certain cardiac medications) and other antidotes that can be stored off-site or shared among several different hospitals (snakebite antivenom, for instance). Like everything else – it’s a cost-benefit analysis. Antidotes cost real money and they have a limited shelf-life, so it doesn’t make much sense for a hospital to spend money to stock an antidote that they are unlikely to ever use.
