The best available clinical method for the treatment of acute poisoning once the poison has been adsorbed into the blood is hemodialysis. Many emergency wards do not have access to a hemodialysis facility. Dialysis is particularly difficult and traumatic with young children, in addition to being slow, cumbersome, and expensive. It has been shown in our lab and elsewhere that many toxins can be readily removed from blood by adsorption on activated carbon and other sorbents. The sorbent can be coated with a membrane to render it atraumatic to blood while retaining its adsorptive properties. It is proposed that we study the in vitro adsorptive behavior of coated and uncoated activated carbon and other adsorbents for barbiturates, salicylates, glutethimide, and other common poisons. It is further proposed that we develop an effective ex vivo device and study its effectiveness on the sheep and the dog. After the device is perfected, it is proposed that we initiate preclinical trials in cases of childhood poisoning with salicylates, barbiturates, and other potentially fatal drugs.