Robert Norman Edward French

Interests

Teaching

Hazardous materials toxicology,envenomations,critical care toxicology, emergency management, and medical support of technical rescue operations

Research

Hazardous materials toxicology andenvenomations

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Books

• French, R. N. (2020). Advanced Hazmat Life Support for Tox-Medics, ed 2.. Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona, Arizona Board of Regents.
• Gaither, J. B., Gaither, J. B., Walter, F. G., Ori, M. R., French, R., French, R., Rice, A. M., Rice, A. M., Hurst, N., Hurst, N., Hurst, N., Rice, A. M., Ori, M. R., Ori, M. R., French, R., Walter, F. G., Walter, F. G., & Gaither, J. B. (2016). Advanced Hazmat Life Support for Tox-Medics, ed 1.. Tucson, Arizona: The University of Arizona, Arizona Board of Regents.

Chapters

• French, R., & Gaither, J. B. (2021). Chemical Properties of Hazardous Materials. In Emergency Medical Services: Clinical Practice and System Oversight 3rd Edition. v2,. West Sussex, England: Wiley Publishers.
• French, R. N., Walter, F. G., Walter, F. G., French, R. N., French, R. N., & Walter, F. G. (2017). Atropine. In Critical Care Toxicology, 2nd edition(pp 2725-2731). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, AG.
• Walter, F. G., Walter, F. G., French, R. N., & French, R. N. (2017). Anticholinergic plants. In Critical Care Toxicology, 2nd edition(pp 2175-2186). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, AG.
• French, R., & Walter, F. G. (2016). Anticholinergic plants. In Critical Care Toxicology, 2nd ed., online. Germany: Springer. doi:DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-20790-2_111-1
• French, R., & Walter, F. G. (2016). Anticholinergic plants. In Critical Care Toxicology, 2nd ed.. Germany: Springer. doi:DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-20790-2_111-1
• French, R., & Walter, F. G. (2016). Atropine. In Critical Care Toxicology, 2nd ed., online. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi:DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-20790-2_153-1
• French, R., & Walter, F. G. (2016). Atropine. In Critical Care Toxicology, 2nd ed.. Germany: Springer. doi:DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-20790-2_153-1
• Hurst, N., Shirazi, F., Karpen, S. R., Sloan, C. T., French, R., French, R., Sloan, C. T., Karpen, S. R., Shirazi, F., & Hurst, N. (2016). Critical Care Pharmacotherapy. In American College of Clinical Pharmacology(pp 781-792). Chapter 38, Medication Withdrawal in the Intensive Care Unit: American College of Clinical Pharmacy.
• Hurst, N., Sloan, C. T., French, R., Karpen, S. R., & Shirazi, F. (2016). Critical Care Pharmacotherapy. In American College of Clinical Pharmacology.
• French, R. N. (2015). Chemical Properties of Hazardous Materia-Joshua B. Gaither and Robert N.E. French. In Emergency Medical Services: Clinical Practice and Systems Oversight Volume 2 Second Edition(pp 334-338). West Sussex, England: Wiley Publishers.
• Gaither, J. B., & French, R. (2015). Chemical Properties of Hazardous Materials. In Emergency Medical Services: Clinical Practice and System Oversight. v2. West Sussex, England: Wiley Publishers.

Journals/Publications

• Walter, F. G., Appel, J. E., French, R. N., Stolz, U., Hurst, N. B., Grossart, E. A., Knapp, S., Groke, S. F., Solem, C. R., & Williams, A. (2022). Do mnemonics help healthcare professionals learn and recall cholinergic toxidromes?. Clinical Toxicology, 60(7), 860-862. doi:10.1080/15563650.2022.2042551
• Walter, F. G., Appel, J., French, R. N., Williams, A., Solem, C., Groke, S., Stolz, U., Knapp, S., Grossart, E., & Hurst, N. B. (2022). Do Mnemonics Help Healthcare Professionals Learn & Recall Cholinergic Toxidromes?. Clinical Toxicology. doi:10.1080/15563650.2022.2042551
• Mhayamaguru, K., Walter, F. G., Bellafiore, A. L., Waters, K. E., Lederer, E., Gaither, J. B., Youngs, C. R., French, R., Youngs, C. R., French, R., Lederer, E., Gaither, J. B., Waters, K. E., Bellafiore, A. L., Walter, F. G., & Mhayamaguru, K. (2018). Prehospital Availability and Use of Medications for Managing Hazmat Emergencies. Prehospital and Emergency Care.
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  1. Mhayamaguru KM, Bellafiore AL, Lederer ET, Youngs CR, French RNE, Gaither JB, Waters KE, Walter FG. Prehospital Availability and Use of Medications for Managing Hazmat Emergencies. Prehospital Emerg Care; 2018; 22(1): 134.
• Shirazi, F. M., French, R. N., Dudley, S. W., Khobrani, M. A., Huckleberry, Y. C., Kopp, B. J., Biggs, A. D., & Erstad, B. L. (2018). Intentional use of carbapenem antibiotics for valproic acid toxicity: A case report. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 43(5), 723-725. doi:10.1111/jcpt.12705
• French, R. N. (2015). Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum) envenomation: Descriptive analysis of calls to United States Poison Centers with focus on Arizona cases.. Clinical Toxicology, 53(1), 60-70. doi:10.3109/15563650.2014.988791
• French, R. N. (2015). Toxic Industrial Chemicals and Chemical Weapons. Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, 33(1), 13-36. doi:10.1016/j.emc.2014.09.004
• French, R. N., & Brillhart, D. (2015). IMAGES IN CLINICAL MEDICINE. Erucism Due to Lepidoptera Caterpillar Envenomation. The New England Journal of Medicine, 373(18), e21.
• French, R. N., Gaither, J. B., & French, R. N. (2015). Chemical properties of hazardous materials. Emergency medical services, 334-338. doi:10.1002/9781118990810.ch110
• Shirazi, F., Boesen, K. J., French, R., Brillhart, D. B., Karpen, S. R., & Hurst, N. (2015). Venous Thrombosis Following Rattlesnake Envenomation. Toxicon.
• French, R. N. (2014). Epidemiology of the reported severity of cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) snakebite.. Southern Medical Journal, 107(3), 150-156. doi:10.1097/SMJ.0000000000000067
• French, R. N. (2013). Heavy Metal Contaminants in Yerberia Shop Products. Journal of Medical Toxicology, 9(1), 21-24.
• Skolnik, A. B., French, R. N., & Ruha, A. (2012). Articles You Might Have Missed. Journal of Medical Toxicology, 8(3), 322-324. doi:10.1007/s13181-012-0245-z
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  Keywords Bodypacker .Deferasirox .Hyperemesis .N-acetylcysteine .CannabisAaron B. Skolnik and Anne-Michelle Ruhade Bakker JK, Nanayakkara PW, Geeraedts LM Jr, deLange ES, Mackintosh MO, Bonjer HJ. Body Packers: aPlea for Conservative Treatment. Langenbecks ArchSurg. 2012 Jan; 397(1):125-30. Epub 2011 Oct 8.Background: Smuggling of drugs via internal concealment,known as “body packing,” is on the rise. Early methods ofinternal concealment relied on swallowed drug packets con-structed from available materials such as balloons and con-doms. Packet rupture was associated with high mortality.Modern drug packets are machine produced and carry alower risk of rupture. Body packers may present with non-life-threatening symptoms such as nausea or bowel obstruc-tion. The optimal approach to management of these patientsis not known.Research Question: This study aims to evaluate the effica-cyof aprotocol for diagnosis andtreatmentof body packers,including determining the need for surgical intervention.Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed overa 6-year period. Patients were identified by a recordeddiagnosis of “body packer.” All patients included in thestudy were treated according to a protocol including vitalsign monitoring, laboratory testing, and radiographs. If plainabdominal X-rays were inconclusive, a CT scan of theabdomen was performed. The study center's protocol man-dated surgical removal of drug packets for signs of drugintoxication, ileus, or persistence of drug packets in thestomach for >48 h. Surgically treated patients were com-pared to conservatively managed patients.Results: Cocaine was the most commonly found drug inboth surgically (n064) and conservatively managed (n079) patients. There was no significant difference in thenumber of packets ingested between groups. Surgicallymanaged patients had higher prevalence of abdominalpain (53 vs. 31 %) and vomiting (20 vs. 13 %) atpresentation. Sixteen percent of surgical patients devel-oped a wound infection, 16 % had a fascial dehiscence,and 8 % had both. Wound infection was associated witha longer length of hospitalization. Mean hospital lengthof stay was significantly prolonged in surgically man-aged patients (7 vs. 2 days). Comparing asymptomaticpatients who underwent surgery for packets remaining inthe stomach >48 h to those with drug packets in the stomachfor 48 vs. 48 h. Surgical treatment should be reserved for thosepatients with ileus or signs of drug intoxication.Critique: This study is limited by its retrospective nature.As a single-center study, the results may not be general-izable to different patient populations. The cutoff time of48 h to determine surgery was chosen arbitrarily. Optimaltiming of surgical intervention in asymptomatic patients isstill not certain. The ideal surgical approach to packetretrieval is unknown and the surgical method in this studywas not standardized. The authors note that wound compli-cations occurred at higher frequency than expected for lap-arotomy when compared to several references. Alternative
• French, R. N. (2011). Toxicology in the ICU: Part 2 Specific Toxins. Chest, 140(4), 1072-1085.
• French, R. N. (2012). Gila Monster Bite. Clinical Toxicology, 50(2), 151-152. doi:10.3109/15563650.2011.647032

Presentations

• Rice, A., Gaither, J. B., French, R. N., Beskind, D. L., Smith, J., Shirazi, F., & Walter, F. G. (2020, January). EMS Medical Directors Advanced Hazmat Life Support for Tox-Medics. National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) 2020 Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA: NAEMSP.
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  Full day pre-conference workshop presentation
• Walter, F. G., Shirazi, F., Smith, J., Beskind, D. L., French, R. N., Gaither, J. B., & Rice, A. (2020, January). EMS Medical Directors' Advanced Hazmat Life Support for Tox-Medics. National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) 2020 Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA: NAEMSP.
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  Full day pre-conference workshop presentation
• Mhayamaguru, K., Walter, F. G., Amber, B., Eric, L., French, R., Gaither, J. B., Carl, Y., & Kristina, W. E. (2019, Jan). Prehospital Availability and Use of Medications for Managing Hazmat Emergencies. Annual meeting of the National Association of EMS Physicians. San Diego, CA.

Poster Presentations

• Appel, J., Groke, S., Hurst, N., Solem, C., Williams, A., Stolz, U., French, R., & Walter, F. G. (2013, June). Do Mnemonics Help Healthcare Professionals Learn and Recall Toxic Syndromes for Cholinergic Hazardous Materials?. SAEM National Research Meeting. Atlanta, GA.

Others

• Gaither, J. B., Tony, R., Shawn, T., Brian, K., Brian, S., Mary, K., French, R. N., Beskind, D. L., Munn, R., Hannan, P., & Rice, A. (2022, January).

  University Emergency Medical Services Guidelines - Prehospital guidelines for the care of patients with emergency medical conditions

  . https://emergencymed.arizona.edu/ems-private/public/admin-guidelines
• Benjamin, J. M., Brandehoff, N., Wilson, B., Hall, A., Greene, S., Otten, E., Maddry, J., Collazo, M., Grisham, J., Jarema, D., Dye, C., Lee, J., Abo, B., Keenan, S., Loos, P., Remley, M., Muschler, K., Maskell, K., Hinners, J., , Carl, S., et al. (2020, June). Global Snake Envenomation Management. Joint Trauma System Clinical Practice Guideline. https://jts.amedd.army.mil/assets/docs/cpgs/Global_Snake_Envenomation_Management_30_Jun_2020_ID81.pdf
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  Clinical Practice Guideline for use by deployed military medical personnel for the management of snakebite.