The epidemiology of poisoning and overdose in Saudi Arabia: exposures, risks, management and outcomes

Abstract

Poisoning is a major public health concern. In Saudi Arabia, information related to poisoning is limited. Herein, we report a large number of poisoning cases from across The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We reviewed cases of poisoning received by the Poison Control Center (PCC) at the Saudi Medical Appointments and referral Center. This was a retrospective review of all documented calls to the PCC between September 2020 and September 2021. A total of 39,439 cases were reported to the PCC during the study period. The mean patient age was 7.1 ± 12.6 years, 52.8% were men, and 36.9% were women; 10.3% of the study population did not specify their gender. More than half of the cases (61.7%) were children ≤5 years-of-age. Public calls accounted for 76.1% of the cases, of which 76.4% were managed at home. Exposures to poisons were mostly acute (84.9%) and unintentional (69.1%). Medications were implicated in 34.7% of cases, the most common medications were analgesics (9.3%). Moderate or major effects were reported by 18.4% of the study population. The vast majority of toxicology consultations received by the PCC involved the accidental exposure of poisons to children less than five years-of-age. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop educational campaigns targeting the safe use and storage of medications and chemicals in the household. Our findings also demonstrate that PCCs play a major role in reducing visits to the emergency department and will also reduce healthcare cost related to poisoning and overdose.