Abstract
Objectives: Acute poisoning in children is an important public health problem worldwide. It is responsible for 0.33% to 7.6% of total admissions in pediatric wards at various hospitals across India. The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of acute poisoning among children (birth to 12 years).Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the hospital records of all children from birth to 12 years of age with definitehistory of poisoning during the 3 years period from October 2012 to September 2015.Results: Of the 203 patients admitted with acute poisoning during the study period, majority (81%) were between 1 to 6 years of age. Male to female ratio was 1.36:1. 68.96% were from rural areas and 31.04% from urban areas.Household products (50.24%), drugs (28.07%), and pesticides and rodenticides (13.30%)were the most frequentlyimplicated agents. Kerosene was major household product implicated. Among drugs, analgesics and antipyretics are commonly implicated. The nature of poisoning was accidental in 98.03% cases. Systems involved in the order of frequency were gastrointestinal, cardiorespiratory, neurological, and others. 89% were discharged after treatment, 5.91% went absconding, 3.44% left against medical advice, and 0.98% expired. Both children who died were 3 years of age and had organophosphorous poisoning. Conclusion: The pattern of acute poisoning in children noted at our centre was not very different from that observed in other hospitalbased studies from India. There is a strong need for preventive campaign to reduce the occurrence acute poisoning in children.
Highlights
ObjectivesAcute poisoning in children is an important public health problem worldwide
We reviewed the hospital records of children from birth to 12 years of age, who were admitted with definite history of acute poisoning and were included in this study
Children between 1 to 6 years age group are most vulnerable to accidental poisoning, because they are mobile, inquisitive, and cannot differentiate between harmful and harmless things
Summary
Acute poisoning in children is an important public health problem worldwide. It is responsible for 0.33% to 7.6% of total admissions in pediatric wards at various hospitals across India. 68.96% were from rural areas and 31.04% from urban areas.Household products (50.24%), drugs (28.07%), and pesticides and rodenticides (13.30%)were the most frequentlyimplicated agents. 89% were discharged after treatment, 5.91% went absconding, 3.44% left against medical advice, and 0.98% expired. Both children who died were 3 years of age and had organophosphorous poisoning. Conclusion: The pattern of acute poisoning in children noted at our centre was not very different from that observed in other hospitalbased studies from India. There is a strong need for preventive campaign to reduce the occurrence acute poisoning in children
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