Medical toxicology

Medical toxicology is a subspecialty of medicine focusing on toxicology and providing the diagnosis, management, and prevention of poisoning and other adverse effects due to medications, occupational and environmental toxicants, and biological agents.^[1] Medical toxicologists are involved in the assessment and treatment of a wide variety of problems, including acute or chronic poisoning, adverse drug reactions (ADRs), drug overdoses, envenomations, substance abuse, industrial accidents, and other chemical exposures.

Medical toxicology is officially recognized as a medical subspecialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties.^[1] Its practitioners are physicians, whose primary specialization is generally in emergency medicine, occupational medicine, or pediatrics.

Medical toxicology is closely related to clinical toxicology, with the latter discipline encompassing non-physicians as well (generally pharmacists or scientists).