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This book provides healthcare workers practicing in rural areas with the practical knowledge necessary to diagnose and treat farm workers who develop an acute or chronic illness. In rural settings, distances and travel times may be prolonged, leading to delays in assessment and definitive treatment. Healthcare providers must be prepared to rapidly assess the ill farm worker, formulate a differential diagnosis, and initiate treatment.
The volume begins by teaching the reader to formulate a comprehensive differential diagnosis of farm worker illnesses, including stings and bites, green tobacco syndrome, infections, and heat and weather-related events, as well as exposures to the numerous chemicals found on the farm. The toxicity of various farm products, such as insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, and petroleum products, are each discussed in their own chapter, enabling the reader to rapidly obtain vital information on their mechanism, clinical signs and symptoms, and differential diagnosis. The reader will learn to utilize information on pesticide labels and safety data sheets, including proper use of personal protective equipment. Chapter authors discuss a variety of other topics, including toxic gas exposures on the farm, disease associations with chronic chemical exposures, illicit drug use, and miscellaneous conditions that a rural practitioner should be familiar with that may occur on the farm, such as heat and cold injuries, lightning strikes, allergies, and asthma.
Farm Toxicology: A Primer for Rural Healthcare Practitioners will be an invaluable resource for rural healthcare providers, including paramedics, triage nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and physicians, who need to quickly evaluate and treat ill farm workers.
List of contents
Approach to the Acutely Ill Farm Worker.- First Aid and Pre-Hospital Management in Rural Areas.- Sources of Information.- Personal Protective Equipment.- Organophosphates and Carbamates.- Organochlorine Pesticides.- NICOTINE AND NEONICOTINOID INSECTICIDES.- PYRETHROID AND RELATED INSECTICIDES.- Herbicides.- Fungicides.- Rodenticides.- Fumigants.- Petroleum Products.- Toxic gases.- Welding Hazards.- Freshwater Algal Blooms and Health.- Mycotoxins, Endotoxins and Agricultural Respiratory Disorders.- Venomous Animals.- Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms.- Miscellaneous Farm Toxicological and Environmental Hazards.- Cancer and Neurodegenerative Disorders Associated with Chemical Exposures Among Farm Workers.- Basics of Toxicology and Risk Assessment.- Occupational Hazards of Farming: An Overview.
About the author
William J. Meggs MD
Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Toxicology Division, Department of Emergency Medicine
Greenville, NC
USA
Ricky L. Langley MD MPH, FACP, FACOEM, FAWM
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC
USA
Summary
This book provides healthcare workers practicing in rural areas with the practical knowledge necessary to diagnose and treat farm workers who develop an acute or chronic illness. In rural settings, distances and travel times may be prolonged, leading to delays in assessment and definitive treatment. Healthcare providers must be prepared to rapidly assess the ill farm worker, formulate a differential diagnosis, and initiate treatment.
The volume begins by teaching the reader to formulate a comprehensive differential diagnosis of farm worker illnesses, including stings and bites, green tobacco syndrome, infections, and heat and weather-related events, as well as exposures to the numerous chemicals found on the farm. The toxicity of various farm products, such as insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides, and petroleum products, are each discussed in their own chapter, enabling the reader to rapidly obtain vital information on their mechanism, clinical signs and symptoms, and differential diagnosis. The reader will learn to utilize information on pesticide labels and safety data sheets, including proper use of personal protective equipment. Chapter authors discuss a variety of other topics, including toxic gas exposures on the farm, disease associations with chronic chemical exposures, illicit drug use, and miscellaneous conditions that a rural practitioner should be familiar with that may occur on the farm, such as heat and cold injuries, lightning strikes, allergies, and asthma.
Farm Toxicology: A Primer for Rural Healthcare Practitioners will be an invaluable resource for rural healthcare providers, including paramedics, triage nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and physicians, who need to quickly evaluate and treat ill farm workers.
