Abstract
Background: Cases of poisoning constitute a globally significant medical, social and economic problem. The annual incidence of poisoning cases in developed countries with suicidal purposes or accidental intake varies in the range of 0.02-0.93%, and it continues to increase each year Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the demographic characteristics, etiology and prognosis of patients who visit emergency department due to intoxication and examine the changes in the factors of intoxication based on years. Methods: This study investigated data collected in the period of 2010-2018 in Bursa, Turkey by the Provincial Directorate of Health by using “18/C Intoxication Case Reporting Forms” on patients who visited the emergency departments due to acute toxicity. Results: The most frequently encountered cause of poisoning was therapeutic medication (n=11243, 39.75%). Among the factors with significant changes in frequency through the years, it was seen that poisoning by therapeutic drugs (p<0.001), poisoning by household chemicals (p<0.001), addictive substance poisoning (p<0.001) and poisoning related to hydrocarbon compounds (p<0.001) increased significantly in comparison to other types of poisoning. On the other hand, there were significant decreases in comparison to other types in poisoning cases related to carbon monoxide (p<0.001), food poisoning (p<0.001), mushroom poisoning (p<0.001) and being stung / bitten by poisonous/venomous animals (p=0.003). Conclusions: While the rates of poisoning cases related to CO, food, mushrooms and poisonous/venomous animals decreased, the rates of poisoning cases related to therapeutic drugs, household chemicals, addictive substances and hydrocarbon compounds increased.
Published Version
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