TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Nitrites (Amyl and Sodium) and Sodium Thiosulfate A1 - Howland, Mary Ann A2 - Nelson, Lewis S. A2 - Howland, Mary Ann A2 - Lewin, Neal A. A2 - Smith, Silas W. A2 - Goldfrank, Lewis R. A2 - Hoffman, Robert S. PY - 2019 T2 - Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies, 11e AB - Sodium nitrite is an effective cyanide (CN) antidote that acts best when administered in a timely fashion and is followed by sodium thiosulfate. The utility of amyl nitrite, a volatile drug available in ampules that can be broken and administered by inhalation while sodium nitrite is being prepared to administer intravenously, is questioned.39 This combination of sodium nitrite followed by sodium thiosulfate was the only antidote combination available to treat CN toxicity before the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of hydroxocobalamin in December 2006. Although there has never been a head-to-head study in humans comparing hydroxocobalamin with the combination for the treatment of CN toxicity, the advantages of hydroxocobalamin are that it works quickly and directly to inactivate CN to form cyanocobalamin. In addition, hydroxocobalamin can be administered to patients with impaired oxygen-carrying capacity from elevated concentrations of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb), methemoglobin, or sulfhemoglobin, making it the preferred CN antidote under most circumstances. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/19 UR - accessemergencymedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1163003901 ER -