Associate Professor
Medical Director, Alabama Poison Information Center
Director, Office of Medical Toxocology
Research and Clinical Interests
Medical education, emerging drugs of abuse, management of envenomations, cardiovascular toxins
Biography
William Rushton is an associate professor and practices Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology. After finishing medical school at Georgetown University, he pursued residency (Emergency Medicine), chief residency, and fellowship (Medical Toxicology) at the University of Virginia Medical Center. He moved to UAB in summer 2015 to found the medical toxicology program. He has published on trends in toxicology including changing patterns of drug abuse, limits in testing, novel approaches to snake envenomation, and emerging drugs of abuse. He currently is the medical director of the Alabama Poison Information Center and the director of the Office of Medical Toxicology.
Certifications
Emergency Medicine
Medical Toxicology
Selected Publications
Rushton W, Rivera J, Brown J, Kurz M, Arnold J. Utilization of thromboelastograms in management of Crotalus adamanteus envenomation [published online ahead of print, 2020 July 4]. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2020; DOI: 10.1080/15563650.2020.1788053
Rushton W, Whitworth B, Brown J, Kurz M, Rivera J. Characteristics of tianeptine effects reported to a poison control center: a growing threat to public health [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jun 18]. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2020;1-6. doi:10.1080/15563650.2020.1781151
Rivera JV, Vance EG, Rushton WF, Arnold JK. Novel Psychoactive Substances and Trends of Abuse. Crit Care Nurs Q. 2017;40(4):374-382. doi:10.1097/CNQ.0000000000000174
Rushton WF, Charlton NP. Dexmedetomidine in the treatment of serotonin syndrome. Ann Pharmacother. 2014;48(12):1651-1654. doi:10.1177/1060028014549184
Rushton WF, Vakkalanka JP, Moak JH, Charlton NP. Negative predictive value of excluding an embedded snake foreign body by ultrasonography. Wilderness Environ Med. 2015;26(2):227-231. doi:10.1016/j.wem.2014.12.015
Alabama ACEP Newsletters
Tianeptine: An Emerging Alabama Public Health Threat. Spring 2020.
A Hot Mistake! A Case Report of Severe Hyperthermia from Suspected Paramethoxyamphetamine Ingestion
Messy but Effective: Calcium Carbonate Treatment for Dermal Hydrofluoric Acid Burns
Purple Lips: A Case of Acne Treatment Gone Awry
Education
Medical School
Georgetown University
Residency
University of Virginia
Fellowship
University of Virginia (Medical Toxicology)
Contact
Office Location
OHB 251
Email
wfr@uab.edu
Phone
205-975-7387