June 2006, Vol 28, No. 6
Internet

What's in the web for family physicians - toxicology

Alfred KY Tang 鄧權恩

1. Poisoning.Comm
http://www.info.gov.hk/dh/diseases/Poisoningcomm/

The first issue of the Poisoning.Comm was launched in January 2006. Poisoning.Comm is a new online publication by the Department of Health, HKSAR. It is dedicated to improve the awareness on poisoning amongst local healthcare professionals. The content is illustrated with examples of local relevance. It will be published quarterly on the Internet. The theme of the most recent issue is on rodenticide poisoning.

2. Toxnet
http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/

Toxnet is a set of databases with information on toxicology and hazardous chemicals maintained by the National Library of Medicine (NLM). It provides access to a Hazardous Substances Data Bank, Chemical Carcinogenesis Research Information System, Genetic Toxicology / Mutagenicity Data Bank and Integrated Risk Information System. There are also information on the toxic effects of various compounds, as well as information resources on environmental health and chemical databases from the Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program of NLM. Toxicology Tutorials (http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/toxtutor.html) is a series of three online tutorials on the basic principles of toxicology, toxicokinetics, and cellular toxicity, produced by the National Library of Medicine's Specialized Information Services Division.

3. Toxic Substances and Disease Registry : ToxFAQs
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html

Developed by of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the ToxFAQs at the website of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is a series of frequently-asked-questions and summaries about hazardous substances. This library of Information is extracted from the ATSDR Toxicological Profiles and Public Health Statements. Each fact sheet serves as a quick and easy-to-understand guide on basic information and what-to-do in case of exposure.

4. International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS) by WHO
http://www.who.int/ipcs/poisons/en/

The IPCS programme on Poisoning Prevention and Management aims to equip countries with the capacity to prevent and manage human exposure to chemicals. A prime area of activity is the establishment and strengthening of poisons centres. A world directory of poisons centres (YellowTox) is maintained here. Other functions of IPCS include the provision of information on chemicals, the provision of information management tools, and the development of peer-reviewed guidelines concerning the prevention and clinical management of poisoning. Publications of IPCS include guidelines on poison information, prevention and management.

5. Introduction to Applied Toxicology
http://www.bio.hw.ac.uk/edintox/page1.htm

The website is a collection of studying material providing an introduction to the field of toxicology and chemical safety. It offers information on the physical form of chemicals, possible health effects of chemical substances, methods of data retrieval, details of hazard and risk assessment, and a glossary on terms commonly used in toxicology. The course also provides background information about environmental toxicology and ecotoxicology.

6. Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets
http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/rtkweb/rtkhsfs.htm

Source of information on over 2000 hazardous substances, from A to Z. Fact sheets for each substance are available as PDF files and substances are listed by their common names. In the fact sheets are information pertaining to hazard summary, identification, exposure determination, workplace exposure limits, and ways to reduce exposure and other emergency information.

7. Pharm/Tox Internet Resources
http://www.pharmtox.med.uwo.ca/www/resource.html

The site is maintained by the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the University of Western Ontario. The page includes an extensive listing of other pharmacology and toxicology links around the world. General Information sites and Databases, Toxicology-related Resources, Career Planning information are available which are useful to health care professionals interested in toxicology.


Alfred KY Tang, MBBS (HK), MFM (Monash)
Family Physician in Private Practice

Correspondence to: Dr Alfred KY Tang, Shop 3A, 2/F, Hsin Kuang Shopping Centre, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.

E-mail: alfredtang@hkma.org


Please note that this and previous editions of "What's in the Web for Family Physicians" are now on the links page of the Web site. All suggested sites are connected by hyperlinks and can be reached by a click of the mouse.