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Background. Acute poisonings are frequent causes of admission to emergency departments and these cases may have hazardous outcomes. Methods. In the present study, medical records of 1818 poisoned patients admitted to Uludag University Medical School's Emergency Department between January 1996 and December 2001 were investigated. The age, sex, outcomes of the patients, and type of poisoning are described. Results. The mean age for females (63% of the patients) was 27 years, whilst the mean age of male patients was 31 years. The major types of poisonings were ingestions of medications (59.6%), mushrooms (3.3%), corrosives (2.5%), organophosphates (3.2%), and methyl alcohol (0.4%). Carbon monoxide accounted for 6.9% of intoxications. Approximately 65% of the patients survived, while the methyl alcohol and corrosive ingestions led to the highest fatality averages (100% and 14.8%, respectively). Conclusions. The demographic and diagnostic features of acute poisoning cases treated in our hospital are similar to those reported in the literature. Adults and women are in a high-risk group for acute poisonings and medicine poisoning, which is the most common type of poisoning. Keywords Acute poisoning; Emergency department; South Marmara; Demographic data, INTRODUCTION Acute poisoning, which can be voluntary or involuntary, is a prominent medical and social problem. In the developed countries, the annual incidence of both accidental (unintentional) and deliberate (intentional) [...]

Acute poisoning is a significant health problem all over the world. In Malaysia, nationwide data on poisoning pattern is scarce and incomplete. The objectives of our study were to determine the pattern of acute drug and chemical poisoning at Penang General Hospital (PGH), in the northern region of Malaysia, and to compare poisoning characteristics between different ethnic groups. The study was a retrospective case review of all poisoned patients admitted to PGH during the years 2000-2002. We collected data concerning demographic parameters of patients, information about the agent(s) implicated, and circumstances surrounding the event. There were 493 poisoning incidents. Nearly two-thirds of the poisoned cases involved female patients. The predominant mode of poisoning was intentional (51.5%). The age group 15.1-30 years ranked at the top, constituting 55.2% of all cases. Drugs were the predominant agents implicated. Among cases associated with drugs, paracetamol was the main causative agent (44.7%). Chinese patients constituted 37.7% of all poisoning cases, followed by the Indians (31.6%) and Malays (26.6%). Between ethnic groups, Indian patients were found to have the highest rate of poisoning admission of 75.2 per 100,000 persons. Keywords Drug; Chemical; Poisoning; Malaysia, INTRODUCTION Acute poisoning continues to be a significant health problem all over the world. The wide availability and accessibility of chemicals and their extensive use in medicine, industry, agriculture, and [...]

Objective: To identify age-adjusted poisoning episode rates, and poison control center contacts due to poisonings in children under 6 years old based on 1997-1999 National Health Interview Survey data; and compare findings with 1997-1999 Toxic Exposure Surveillance System data. Methods: Secondary analysis of National Health Interview Survey poisoning episode data for children 5 years and younger. Respondents were asked about poison exposures during the previous 3 months. Results: Based on National Health Interview Survey population weighted data there were 196/10,000 poisonings to young children < 6 years. These exposures resulted primarily from harmful solid or liquid substances. A poison control center was called in 86% of exposures to children < 4 years, but only in 70% of the 4-5 year old exposures. The odds of a poison control center not being called were 3.2 times greater for 4-5 year olds (compared to [less than or equal to] 3 years) and 4.5 times greater for African-American (compared with White-Americans). Comparison of National Health Interview Survey data with data in the 1997-1999 Annual Reports of the Toxic Exposure Surveillance System revealed the number of estimated exposures in the National Health Interview Survey data were approximately half those reported in the Toxic Exposure Surveillance System data. In both datasets, children 1-2 years of age had the highest percent of poisoning exposures. Conclusions: Using multiple datasets to explore poisoning rates in young children provides a broader perspective. Differences in findings reflect divergent data collection methods and biases inherent in each database. Although the majority of National Health Interview Survey respondents reporting contacting a poison control center for a poisoning exposure, rates are lower in specific subgroups indicating a need for targeted educational efforts. Key Words: Poison prevention; Poison prevalence rates; National Health Interview Survey; Poisioning in young children, INTRODUCTION Approximately 3-4 million Americans are poisoned every year, of these 2.2 million are reported to poison control centers (PCC). [1,2] Data collected by PCCs is aggregated by the American [...]

Information from the Western Australia Health Services Research Linked Database was used in a before-and-after epidemiological study to assess the effect on intentional and unintentional overdose rates of the recall of two paracetamol products. Findings showed that there was a significant decrease in paracetamol poisoning admissions when sales were restricted in 2000, suggesting that limiting paracetamol product access may reduce poisonings.

Backgrounds Intoxication (or poisoning) that necessitates hospitalization remains an important source of morbidity in children. Objective: To determine changes, during an 11-year period (1987-1997), in the incidence of hospitalization due to intoxication among children in Washington State and circumstances of ingestion, agents used, hospital length of stay, charges, and mortality. Methods: A computerized database of all hospital discharges (Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System [CHARS] database) in Washington was used. Cases included all children younger than 19 years with a primary or secondary diagnosis for an intoxication or with an external cause of injury code (E code) for an intoxication from 1987 to 1997. Results: There were 7322 hospitalizations (45 per 100000 children per year); the annual rate significantly decreased during the study period. Most patients (75%) were teenagers. Sixty-five percent were female. Pharmaceutical agents were used in 80% of cases. Analgesics were the most commonly used (34%), followed by antidepressants (12%) and psychotropic drugs (8%). Nonpharmaceutical agents were more prevalent in children younger than 12 years than in teenagers. Self-inflicted intoxication was the most frequent cause identified by E codes (47%). Median length of stay was 1 day, and median hospital charges were $2096. Mortality was low (0.2%) and did not change significantly over time. Conclusions: Acute intoxication continues to be an important cause of hospitalization in children. The type of agent involved did not change significantly over time. Teenage girls continue as the highest risk group for suicide attempt from ingestions. Self-inflicted intoxications were associated with higher costs, length of stay, and readmissions. Although preventive measures and development of poison centers have contributed to decrease mortality from acute intoxication in children in the last 50 years, efforts need to be targeted toward suicide prevention, especially among teenage girls. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155:1105-1110

Background: Poisoning (PO) epidemiology is essential in prioritizing PO research, treatment and prevention efforts. Our objective was to describe the epidemiology of hospitalizations for acute PO in Washington (WA) from 1987-96. Methods: After IRB approval, WA hospitalized PO were identified by a computerized search of a statewide hospital discharge database (CHARS) for cases with a ICD9-CM discharge code(s) indicating acute PO and descriptive analyses performed. Results: Mean yearly # and rate/100,000 (range) of WA hospitalized PO during the 10 yr. interval was 4,437 (4,278-4,596) and 88.2 (77.8-100.4), respectively. PO related E (intent) codes were identified in 81% of cases (most after 1988) with 61% intentional, 32% unintentional and 7% other. Males accounted for 40% and females for 60% of PO cases. Those aged 15-54 accounted for 72% overall with the 25-34 yo group having the greatest overall proportion (22%) and 15-19 yo group having the greatest overall rate (145). Mean length of stay (LOS) was 3.5 d with 40% of LOS [is less than or equal to] 1 d and 80% [is less than or equal to] 4 d. Discharge status indicated: home ([+ or -] assistance) 76%, transferred 19%, AMA 3% and died 2%. Mean hospital charge per PO case was $4,694 with mean charges trending upward and more than doubling over 10 yr. Primary payer was Medicare/Medicaid in 46.5%, third party 35.7%, self-pay/charity in 14.1% and other government program 3.7%. Of 145 hospitals, 20 accounted for 52.5% of PO cases. Conclusion: A wealth of PO-related epidemiologic knowledge may be derived through analysis of hospital discharge data., Martin TG, Kenny RJ, Robertson WO. University of Washington Medical Toxicology Consult Service, University of Washington & Washington Poison Center, Seattle, [...]

Deaths from self-poisoning have fallen following legislation introduced in September 1998 to reduce the number of tablets per pack of paracetamol and salicylates. A report in the British Medical Journal [...]

In 1998 there were 2,219 deaths from poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, a decrease on 2,301 the previous year. Figures from National Statistics show that, in 1998, poisoning [...]

Almost one-third of people admitted to hospital as a result of poisoning were under the age of 24, the latest research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) [...]

Objectives: Acetic acid is a frequently used corrosive agent in Russia. The purpose of our research is a dependency study of fatal outcome due to ingestion of 70% acetic acid. [...]