A Retrospective Study of Profile of Poisoning Cases Reported to District Hospital, Chamarajanagar for a Period of 3 Years.

Background: Poisoning is a major public health problem worldwide, with thousands of deaths occurring every year, mainly in the developing countries. India, holding 70% of agricultural land, accounts for one third of pesticide poisoning cases in the third world, the farm workers being the worst affected. Most of the poisonings occur due to deliberate self-ingestion of the poison. Organophosphorus (OP) compounds occupy the greatest burden of poisoning related morbidity and mortality. The present study was aimed to know the profile of various poisoning cases admitted to Emergency Department in District Hospital, Chamarajanagar. Objectives: The main objectives of this study were to determine the profile of poisoning cases reported to District Hospital, Chamarajanagar and to assess their pattern and outcome. Methodology: A record based retrospective study for a period of 3 years i.e., from 1st January 2012 to 31^st December 2014 was conducted in the District Hospital, Chamarajanagar and the data regarding Age, Gender, Residence, Time elapsed after intake, Type of poison, Manner and route of poisoning, Duration of hospitalization and Outcome were collected in a pre-structured proforma. The data was analyzed using standard statistical methods. Results: Total number of medico-legal cases reported to the Casualty, District Hospital, Chamarajanagar during the study period was 7653. Out of the 7653 cases, 960 cases were due to poisoning, which accounts to 12.5%. Among the 960 cases studied, 64.7% were males (n=621) and the age group between 19yrs to 30yrs constituted the major contributors (48.5%) for poisoning cases. Irritant poisons (70.3%) were the most common type of poisons encountered in our study, with Organo-phosphorus compounds (23.3%) being the commonest sub-type. Conclusion: This study highlights the trends of poisoning cases admitted to the District Hospital, Chamarajanagar which clearly indicates the high risk population involved and the common poisons encountered in these region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]