Retrospective evaluation of unintentional poisoning involving psychiatric drugs in Malaysia: A study based on calls managed by national poison centre, 2016-2017

Abstract

Data from the National Poison Centre (NPC) showed that the highest number of poisoning incidents in Malaysia were caused by pharmaceutical products, whereby psychiatric drugs contributed to the most number of cases. While intentional poisoning receives more attention, unintentional poisoning is often overlooked. Therefore, the study designs to evaluate the unintentional poisoning of psychiatric drugs in Malaysia. Telephone enquiries regarding psychiatric drug poisoning were made by healthcare providers to the NPC. Information received was entered into a retrievable database by Drugs and Poison Information Service in the form of a standardized Poison Case Report Form as adapted from the World Health Organization. A retrospective analysis was performed, and data on unintentional poisoning were extracted and evaluated. A total of 619 poisoning cases of psychiatric drugs were reported, whereby 28% (n=133) were caused unintentionally. Demographic analysis showed Perak to record the highest number of cases at 16.5% (n=22), followed by Johor (13.5%, n=18) and Sabah (12.8%, n=17). Unintentional psychiatric poisoning showed almost equal distribution between genders, and Malays reported the highest number at 47.4% (n=63). More than half of the cases (58.6%) occurred among toddlers between 1-4 years old, followed by 17.3% cases among children and adolescents between 5-14 years old. Most of the incidents (99.2%) happened at home, and 88% were due to accidental ingestions. Unintentional poisoning in the household of psychiatric patients has been underestimated, and toddlers and children have been majorly implicated. Therefore, proper education and awareness must be established to ensure human safety.