Abstract
incidence, and mortality in pediatric population.Objective: Estimating the magnitude and assessing the pattern of AP in children was the primary objective. Describing the affected age group, common agents, and assessment of clinical features were the secondary objectives.Materials & Methods: Children aged 1month- 12years with history of AP were included; those with allergic reactions to plant products, food and idiosyncratic reactions to drugs were excluded.Result: 101 children accounted for 1.7% of total pediatric admission. Accidental ingestion of poisons (90.09%) and poisoning due to insect and snake bites (9.90%) were reported. Males (n=62) outnumbered females. Patients from urban area (68.2 %), children aged1-3 years (56.43%) wereaffected the most. All incidents were unintentional and occured in the home surroundings.April (n=21), March (n=20) recorded higher number followed by December (n=14). Hydrocarbon poisoning (43.56%) was most common followed by poisoning due to medicaments (18.8 %,), chemicals (12.87%), and food poisoning (9.90%). Insect bites & stings were seen in 9.90%. Supportive treatment was given to 49.5%, further gastric absorption prevented in 24.45 % and specific antidote to 7.9% patients.Three patients died due to scorpion bite, Phenytoin and kerosene ingestion.Conclusion: AP is a preventable emergency. Incidence, agents, clinical features, treatment administered and therapeutic outcome of AP in children are comparable to the available national data. Preventive measures, strict legislative actions and restriction of availability of hazardous chemicals will reduce the incidence.
Highlights
Poisoning, a common, yet an important preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in children, is a paediatric emergency globally
Study material and methodology was reviewed by Institutional ethics committee (IEC)
During two years of study period, 101 children were admitted with h/o accidental poisoning, accounting for 1.7% of total pediatric admission (n=5914)
Summary
A common, yet an important preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in children, is a paediatric emergency globally. Pediatric population is more vulnerable and 47.8% of poisoning cases are reported in children [3]. Paucity of data due to underreporting of accidental poisoning (AP) poses obstacle in assessing the trend, incidence, and mortality in pediatric population. Describing the affected age group, common agents, and assessment of clinical features were the secondary objectives. Accidental ingestion of poisons (90.09%) and poisoning due to insect and snake bites (9.90%) were reported. Agents, clinical features, treatment administered and therapeutic outcome of AP in children are comparable to the available national data. Preventive measures, strict legislative actions and restriction of availability of hazardous chemicals will reduce the incidence
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Pediatric Review: International Journal of Pediatric Research
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
