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Introduction:The aim of this study was to investigate demographic, epidemiologic, and clinical characteristics of cases admitted to pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) for poisoning.Methods:Cases with poisoning admitted to PICU between January 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016 were evaluated retrospectively.Results:Ninety two cases were enrolled in this study. The mean age was 63.65±59.1 months and 73.9% of the cases were under 5 years of age. Fifty five point four percent of the cases were male. Of the poisoning cases, 82.6% were accidental and 14.1% were suicidal. Seventy seven point two percent of the cases were drug related and 18.3% of them were multi-drug poisonings. Central nervous system drugs were the most frequently (24.2%) ingested drugs. The most common cause of non-drug poisonings were pesticide and insecticides (42.8%). The median duration of time from ingestion to admission to the pediatric emergency department was 60 (10-2880) minutes. Of the cases, 31.5% were symptomatic. Gastric lavage and activated charcoal were performed in 65.2% and 72.8% of the cases, respectively. Continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration was performed in 3 cases. The mean time of PICU and hospital stay were 19.53±14.37 and 35.91±29.46 hours, respectively. During the study period, one case died due to acute poisoning of alpha-lipoic acid.Conclusion:Pediatric poisonings are among the most common reasons for referrals to emergency department, admission to hospital and represent a preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. Parental education about prevention of poisoning and keeping drugs and household products out of children’s reach is important because most of the poisonings occur at home with drugs and household products. Recognition of epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of pediatric poisoning by healthcare providers is also important for rapid diagnosis and treatment.

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Consumption of morphine sulfate and d-amphetamine was studied in two groups of rats. In a choice situation, preference for both drugs remained low after 46 days of drinking. In two additional groups morphine and d-amphetamine solutions were prepared with 1% saccharine. Morphine drinking was significantly increased by saccharine adulteration, whereas drinking of amphetamine solutions decreased. Addition of saccharine to morphine solutions increased drinking in more than a simple additive way. Saccharine facilitates the acquisition of drug-directed behavior. The slope of the acquisition trials for the morphine-saccharine group was significantly different from horizontal (O-slope) and significantly different from the slope found for the morphine without saccharine group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suicide attempts are a major concern for public health. While the prevalence of diseases such as cancer and heart disease has been decreasing lately, suicide rates have increased. Objective: The aim of our study was to describe the clinical profile with predilection of the psychiatric pathology of axis I, of the patients with suicide attempts. Material and Methods: The final analytical sample consisted of 137 patients admitted in the guard room for suicide attempts during January-December 2018. The patients were classified according to the psychiatric diagnosis and the type of suicide attempt, including patients with suicidal ideation. The age of the patients was recorded as a categorical variable including three categories (18-39, 40-59, 60-79 years). Descriptive statistics, comparison of means and frequencies tests were applied on the study group. Results: Of the 137 patients registered with suicide attempts, with mean age of 44.5 years ± 16.2 years, 88.32% (n=121) had the diagnosis of major depressive episode, 7.3% (n=10) the diagnosis of personality disorder and an equal percentage of 2.2% (n=3) for the diagnosis of oligophrenia and psychotic disorders. The most frequent types of suicide attempts were by ingestion of drugs 30.65% (n=42), by hanging 13.13% (n=18) folowed by the parasuicidal attempts 12.4% (n=17). Conclusions: In the study group, suicide attempts were most frequently recorded in patients with depressive episodes, by resorting to drug ingestion. Nevertheless, psychotic patients or with personality disorders, in smaller percentage, also resort to suicide attempts. Detecting and managing these mental disorders is a crucial strategy in preventing suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]