Abstract
Background: kerosene is a common cause of childhood poisoning specially in low and middleincome countries. Complications are primarily related to pulmonary aspiration which is a significant contributor to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Objectives: To study the clinical profile of kerosene poisoning in children presented to Menoufia Poison Control Centre and to identify patients who need ICU admission. Methods: a prospective study including children presented to Menoufia Poison Control Center with acute kerosene poisoning during the period of three years from 2018 to 2020. Results: During the study period, a total number of 154 children were admitted. Male children were 56.5% and females represent 43.5%. More than half of cases (52.6%) were less than 3 years. The majority of cases were from rural areas (76.6%). All cases were exposed to kerosene orally and 24.9% had combined oral and dermal exposure. ICU admitted cases had longer period of hospitalization and presented mainly by tachypnea, hypoxemia and chest retractions. Conclusion: Respiratory system is mainly affected in kerosene poisoning. Patients presenting with respiratory distress, moderate or severe grades of PSS, hypoxemia on presentation should be admitted to the ICU. Community education is necessary to reduce this preventable poisoning in children.
Highlights
Poisoning is a common and preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric age group as the surrounding environment is still not child safe (Murmu and Das, 2017)
This work was conducted as a prospective study including all children less than 18 years with kerosene poisoning presented to Menoufia Poisoning Control Center (MPCC) during the period from 2018 to 2020
This study was performed on 154 cases with kerosene poisoning, out of them 18 were admitted to Intensive Care Unit (ICU) representing 11.7% with a mortality rate of 1.9 % (3 cases died)
Summary
Poisoning is a common and preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric age group as the surrounding environment is still not child safe (Murmu and Das, 2017). Kerosene ingestion is a common medical emergency among children in developing countries where it is still used for cooking, heating, and lighting coupled with suboptimal care and supervision of children (Anwar et al, 2014). Known as paraffin, is obtained from the fractional distillation of petroleum. It is a cheap fuel hydrocarbon nearly colorless and most times, is stored in familiar containers at homes (Singh and Gurung, 2018). Chemical pneumonitis usually results from direct injury to the lung parenchyma. Type II pneumocytes are the most affected resulting in decreased surfactant production that leads to alveolar collapse and hypoxemia (Prasad et al, 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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: Ain Shams Journal of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology
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.
