Duke Poison Control Center Records, 1951-1987

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Summary

Creator:
Duke Poison Control Center.
Abstract:
Contains materials pertaining to the clinical and educational activities of the Poison Control Center at Duke University, established in 1954 and headed by Jay Arena and later Shirley K. Osterhout. The Poison Control Center provided information to individuals and businesses about the product safety and chronic and acute management of poisoning through referrals, correspondence, and educational speakers. Types of materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, memoranda, articles, patient summaries, tests, discussion notes, informational materials relating to poisons and drug interactions, phone logs, pamphlets, brochures, budgets, and copies of newspaper clippings. Major subjects include the Duke University Medical Center, Poison Control Centers, poisoning in children, accidental poisoning, prevention and treatment of poisoning, Jay Arena, and Shirley K. Osterhout. Materials range in date from 1951 to 1987.
Extent:
8 Linear Feet (6 cartons and 1 manuscript box) and 1 oversized folder
Language:
English
Collection ID:
MC.0044

Background

Scope and content:

Contains materials pertaining to the clinical and educational activities of the Poison Control Center at Duke University. Types of materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, memoranda, articles, patient summaries, tests, discussion notes, informational materials relating to poisons and drug interactions, phone logs, and copies of newspaper clippings. Materials range in date from1951 to 1987.

Biographical / historical:

Organized in 1954, The Duke Poison Control Center was the second poison control center in the United States. Jay Arena (MD, Duke, 1932) headed the center from 1954 to 1959 and Shirley K. Osterhout (AB, Duke, 1953 and MD, Duke, 1957) was the first clinical doctor. Arena stepped down as the director in 1959 and Osterhout became the new director. Following his departure from the poison control center, Arena, a pediatrician, continued to be active as a national speaker and writer on poison control topics.
Arena is credited with beginning the first poison control movement in the country. In addition to founding the Poison Control Center, he was a preeminent physician in the field of toxicology and developer of the childproof safety cap. His interest in poison prevention derived in part from the influence of Dr. Wilburt C. Davison, the first dean of Duke School of Medicine. During the 1930s, the two men treated children suffering from the caustic effects of lye poisoning, common at that time. They started keeping a reference file on other types of poisoning. The reference file eventually led to an inventory of treatments for poisoning and helped develop more than 600 poison control centers across the United States. In the 1950s, Arena led the push for drug companies to develop the childproof safety cap for medicine bottles. Many companies were not interested in changing their product for fear of low sales or acquiring the reputation of not producing a safe drug. Arena persisted, with support from Duke University, and convinced a number of drug companies to begin using childproof safety caps.
Shirley K. Osterhout, an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Duke University School of Medicine, taught courses about poisoning and supervised pediatric students at work in the center. Osterhout was especially concerned with packaging, product commercials, and labeling information, often directing companies to correct labels that provided misinformed antidotes. During her tenure, she testified before the Consumer Products Safety Committee and rallied against many large manufacturers to change packaging from attractive, food-like containers to those that are clearly not similar to food containers. Osterhout was a member of a variety of pediatric health associations.
The Center was originally located in a space near Duke Hospital's emergency room, which also contained a reference library and treatment room. The purpose of the center was to provide information to individuals about the chronic and acute management of poisoning. Staff also made referrals, answered letters about product safety, and provided speakers for educational purposes. The center provided information primarily to physicians directly, but later outreach efforts brought in calls from non-physicians, especially parents. National Poison Prevention Week activities, including a publicity and outreach fair complete with posters, stickers, brochures, and comic depictions of children and poisons, were opportunities for the Duke Poison Control Center to reach the community it served.
A grant from the North Carolina Department of Human Resources and the Duke University Department of Pediatrics funded the center. The center functioned as state central poison control and wrote guidelines for various government departments on the safety of chemicals. Staff from the center also provided a permanent display at health fairs and conferences, sent out fliers, and taught poison awareness and prevention courses. In the 1970s, when the Durham, North Carolna, area was more agriculturally active, the center received many calls about agricultural poisonings with an average of 200 calls per month. In 1977, the center handled 1,195 cases involving household, farm, commercial, and industrial products (the most common cause of accidental poisonings). Farmers were frequently poisoned with insecticides and weed killers. The second most common poisonings occurred during household chores, primarily when bleach was mixed with another cleaning agent. The Duke Poison Control Center ceased operation around 1997. Toxicology studies continued through Duke University's Toxicology Program. The statewide poison control center is now located in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Custodial history:

Transfer; circa 1988

Processing information:

Processed by Archives staff and Emily Glenn: July 2003

Arrangement:
Organized into the following series: Correspondence, 1965-1987; Case Reports and Admissions to Duke Hospital, 1953-1985; Patient Phone Contact Logs, 1987; Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee, 1980-1983; Short Writings and Clippings, 1974-1987; Jay Arena Materials, 1951-1976; Oversized Items, undated.
Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Contents

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Restrictions:

This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals or IRB approval may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Duke University assumes no responsibility.
Collection must be screened for sensitive or confidential materials before being accessed. For further information consult with the Medical Center Archivist.

Terms of access:

Copyright for Official University records is held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Duke Poison Control Center Records, Duke University Medical Center Archives.