Abstract
BackgroundAntidotes stocking is a critical component of hospital care for poisoned patients in emergency. Antidote stocking represents a major health challenge worldwide and in Lebanon. Systematic data monitoring of antidote stocking in Lebanese hospitals is lacking. The objective of this study is to assess the adequacy of antidotes stocking in Lebanese hospitals according to type and quantity and explore the characteristics associated with their differential availability.MethodsData collection to assess antidote availability and its correlate was undertaken through a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed by the unit of surveillance at the Ministry of Public Health to eligible hospitals providing emergency care services. The list of essential antidotes was adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO) list and the British Columbia Drug and Poison Information Centre.ResultsAmong the 85 Lebanese hospitals surveyed none had in stock all the 35 essential antidotes required. The frequency of stocking by type of antidote varied from a minimum of 1.2 % of the hospitals having a (cyanide kit) to 100 % availability of (atropine and calcium gluconate). Teaching hospitals and those with a large bed-capacity reported a higher number of available antidotes for both immediate and non-immediate use than non-teaching hospitals while controlling for the hospital geographical region and public vs private sector.ConclusionThe Lebanese hospitals have a suboptimal stock of essential antidotes supply. It is recommended that the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health monitors closely on the hospital premises the adequacy and availability of essential antidotes stock.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40360-016-0092-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Antidotes stocking is a critical component of hospital care for poisoned patients in emergency
The main objective of this study was to document the availability of antidotes considered essential according to the criteria set by the British Columbia Drug and Poison Information Centre (BC DPIC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) [1]
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health provided us with a list of addresses and contact information of eligible public and private hospitals with emergency care services in Lebanon
Summary
Antidotes stocking is a critical component of hospital care for poisoned patients in emergency. Dart et al, developed recommendations for antidote stocking and categorizing their availability according to the immediacy of their use in USA [7] These recommendations can be only elaborated when information on antidotes stocking in hospitals providing Emergency care is available. Considering such guidelines are still largely missing in Lebanon, it is recommended to first document antidotes stocking before developing the guidelines [7]. The main objective of this study was to document the availability of antidotes considered essential according to the criteria set by the British Columbia Drug and Poison Information Centre (BC DPIC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) [1]
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