What combination of treatments is used for calcium channel blocker toxicity?

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The combination of calcium chloride and glucagon is appropriate for treating calcium channel blocker toxicity. Calcium channel blockers can lead to severe hypotension and bradycardia due to their mechanism of reducing intracellular calcium levels, which are crucial for cardiac contractility and vascular tone.

Calcium chloride serves as a direct countermeasure, providing an immediate supply of calcium ions to stabilize cardiac function and improve contractility. This is essential in cases where calcium blockade can cause detrimental cardiovascular effects. Glucagon can be beneficial as it increases heart rate and myocardial contractility independently of beta-adrenergic receptors, offering a complementary action that helps overcome the effects of calcium channel blockers.

Other treatment combinations listed are not suitable for calcium channel blocker toxicity. For example, N-acetylcysteine and sodium thiosulfate are primarily used in acetaminophen overdose cases. Flumazenil is used as a reversal agent for benzodiazepine overdose and is not indicated here. Sodium nitrate and oxygen are associated with cyanide poisoning treatment rather than issues related to calcium channel blockers. Thus, the selected choice directly addresses the unique challenges posed by calcium channel blocker toxicity.

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