Poisoning cause analysis among patients hospitalized in an emergency department (original) (raw)
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Introduction: Poisoning is a major health problem worldwide and one of the most common reasons for visiting emergency departments (EDs). The object of this study was to determine the epidemiological characteristics of poisoned patients referred to emergency department of Bandar Abbas Shahid-Mohammadi hospital in 2011-2012. Methods: In a cross-sectional study between March 2011 and February 2012 all the paitents admitted through ED for further evaluation and treatment were investigated. Data were gathered from direct interviewing and patient's medical files by using a checklist and analyzed by SPSS version 16 using descriptive statistical tests, Chi-Square and t-test. Results: Poisonings comprised 3.6% of emergency department patients. During the study period, 493 patients with drug or chemical exposure were admitted. Of them, 52.1% were male and 47.9% were female. 75.7% were between the ages of 14-29 years. Benzodiazepines (23.1%) followed by Tramadol (20.1%) were the most common cause of poisonings. Intentional poisonings constituted the majority of cases (67%). The mean age of suicidal cases was lower (23.3 vs 30.3). The majority of patients were single (52.9%), unemployed (58.4%) and living in urban centers (75.3%). 26% of patients had a diagnosed psychiatric disease, 13% had previous suicidal self-poisoning and 32.3% were addicted. 2.2% of patients were died during hospital stay. Conclusion: In this study, poisonings most commonly occur as intentional and mostly by pharmaceutical agents. The prevalence was higher in younger individuals than other groups. According to these findings, the authorities have to prevent its further occurance by screening of psychiatric diseases in poisoning cases and early treatment of them, as well as limiting easy availability of drugs.
Journal of Community Medicine & Health Education, 2015
Background: The growing number of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), also labelled as "legal highs", constitutes a challenge to public health. It is uncertain whether this trend is related to the increase in number of poising cases reported by emergency rooms. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of NPS in acute cases of poisoning in the Swedish county Värmland. The numbers of NPS casualties were correlated with poisoning by other substances. Both, the gender and age distribution of the reported cases were recorded. Method: Records classified as poisoning casualties at the emergency rooms in Värmland during 2007-2013 were collected and analyzed. Results: NPS and illicit drugs constituted only a small part (1.67% and 7.84% respectively) of the total poisoning casualties. The results also revealed that alcohol and pharmaceuticals were present in the majority of cases (91.2%), and were to a larger extent involved in polydrug abuse and suicide attempts. Furthermore, the results uncovered an alarming poisoning problem among women who had taken pharmaceuticals and for suicidal young people. Conclusions: It is unclear whether the comparatively low prevalence of NPS and illicit drug related poisoning casualties reflect the real prevalence of injury cases or a possible under-reporting.
Background: The growing number of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), also labelled as “legal highs”, constitutes a challenge to public health. It is uncertain whether this trend is related to the increase in number of poising cases reported by emergency rooms. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of NPS in acute cases of poisoning in the Swedish county Värmland. The numbers of NPS casualties were correlated with poisoning by other substances. Both, the gender and age distribution of the reported cases were recorded. Method: Records classified as poisoning casualties at the emergency rooms in Värmland during 2007- 2013 were collected and analyzed. Results: NPS and illicit drugs constituted only a small part (1.67% and 7.84% respectively) of the total poisoning casualties. The results also revealed that alcohol and pharmaceuticals were present in the majority of cases (91.2%), and were to a larger extent involved in polydrug abuse and suicide attempts. Furthermore, the results uncovered an alarming poisoning problem among women who had taken pharmaceuticals and for suicidal young people. Conclusions: It is unclear whether the comparatively low prevalence of NPS and illicit drug related poisoning casualties reflect the real prevalence of injury cases or a possible under-reporting.
The changing pattern of poisoning with psychoactive drugs in Croatia
Arhiv za higijenu rada i toksikologiju, 2000
The aim of this study was to analyse the frequency of poisoning with psychoactive drugs (benzodiazepines, antidepressants and neuroleptics) over the last 15 years in Croatia. The analysis was based on poisoning incidents reported over the phone (hot line) to the Zagreb Poison Control Center and included two periods: 1985-1991 (period I) and 1992-1999 (period II). The data were analysed separately for children and adults. Each phone call was counted as one poisoning incident. Child poisoning with neuroleptics was significantly higher in period II than in period I and so was the adult poisoning with antidepressants, amytriptyline, and combined psychoactive drugs. The frequency of total psychoactive drug poisoning was significantly higher in adults than in children in both periods. From 1992, the frequency of adult poisoning with antidepressants considerably increased as one of the many consequences of war-related stress. The results indicate a need for careful psychiatric evaluation a...
Health in Emergencies & Disasters Quarterly (HDQ), 2023
Background: Unintentional poisoning is a critical type of poisoning by which people injure themselves with no intention. Such a condition occurs accidentally, occupationally, or through abusive manners. The present study aims to examine the one-year frequency and causes of unintentional poisoning in patients treated by the prehospital emergency center in Qaemshahr City, Iran, in 2016. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study of 259 patients with unintentional poisoning. The variables were extracted and then registered in the questionnaires. The data were analyzed by the SPSS software. Results: In this study, 83.8% of the patients were male and 16.2% were female. Most toxicity cases (89.1%) were unintentional as a result of drug abuse in the forms of tramadol abuse (42.8%), narcotic drugs (26.6%), and alcohol (19.7%), ranking 1 to 3, respectively. A total of 48.2% of the unintentional poisoning cases were caused by medicinal factors and other cases (51.8%) were due to non-medicinal agents. Benzodiazepines and cardiovascular drugs were the most common drugs causing a medicinal overdose. Gastrointestinal poisoning was the most prevalent way of toxicity (77.6%) and the rate of death was 4%. Conclusion: The results of the present study and similar research show that unintentional poisoning includes large populations of toxicity cases that occur mainly by drug abuse, such as tramadol and narcotic drugs. This study can be considered a pattern to conduct more research in the relevant fields.
Journal of preventive epidemiology, 2020
Introduction: Poisoning is regarded as a matter of concern for health providers as the burden of health resources loss can be high. Since nature and diversity of poisoning are different among various regions around the country, this study was conducted to demonstrate type and reasons for poisonings in Qazvin province, Iran. Objectives: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the reason of toxic events as well as presenting symptoms and outcome of poisonings. Patients and Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional and hospital-based study was conducted during a one-year period. The patients recruited to the study were consecutive intoxicated cases presenting to the hospital with alleged poisoning. Relevant epidemiological and clinical data from patients were collected and then analyzed using SPSS software. Results: A total of 23161 patients were admitted to the hospital, out of which 766 (3.3%) intoxicated patients were enrolled in the study. Mean age was 29.8 years old. Females outnumbered males but difference was not significant. The majority of the poisonings were deliberate (95.2%). Main clinical features of poisoning were decreased consciousness (47.4%), followed by lethargy (38.1%) and nausea/vomiting (31.9%). The benzodiazepines were the predominant agent ingested by patients, followed by opioids. Mortality rate was found to be 1%. Conclusion: Although the majority of poisoning cases are deliberate, however according to the type of pharmaceuticals involved in the poisonings and low-mortality rate, it is believed that the occurrence of the toxic events in many cases arises from impulsive behaviors originated from minor familial conflicts and incompetent life skills. Improving mental health and efficient coping skills can contribute to the reduction of intentional poisonings which in turn reduces the burden of hospital costs.
Background and objectives: Drug poisoning is a serious global health problem that sometimes requires hospitalization and intensive care. This study investigates clinical and demographic profile of acute poisoning cases admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of 5 Azar hospital in Gorgan, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on 440 acute drug poisoning cases (224 men and 190 women) who had been admitted to the ICU of the hospital from March 2008 to March 2018. Data were collected with a checklist and using the census method. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS (version 16) and the Chi-square test. Results: Of 440 cases, 54.1% were male and 43.7% were aged 20-29 years. Suicide attempt by selfpoisoning was the most important type of poisoning (70.8%). Benzodiazepines (38.9%) and narcotic drugs (18.6%) overdose was the most common cause of acute poisoning. The majority of incidents (72.7%) were caused by a single drug. The average length of stay in the ICU was 4.21 ± 3.45 days. Acute poisoning-related mortality rate was 4.1%, which was primarily due to the use of narcotic drugs. Conclusion: Benzodiazepines and narcotics are the primary agents involved in acute poisoning requiring critical care. Moreover, methadone-based narcotics are the main cause of drug poisoningrelated mortality.
Psychoactive substances related to the deaths
Bratislava Medical Journal, 2012
The study included all deceased who died in relation to psychoactive substances abuse in the regions of Bratislava and Trnava city districts within a two-year period of the years 2007-2008. All the cases were autopsied by the standard method completed with toxicological analyses. There were reported total 84 fatalities related to psychoactive substances. From this amount, 38 cases (45 %) belong to the group of direct deaths (poisonings) and 46 cases (55 %) to the group with other cause of death. Out of the total number, 83 % were related to men and 17 % to women. More than 50 % of the cases were related to the age up to 34 years. In the group of poisonings, the most frequently detected substances were opioids themselves or in combination with other substances in 53 %. In the group of the indirect deaths, the most frequent category of death was suicide in 39 %. The most frequently detected psychoactive substances were central nervous system stimulants in 40 % of cases (Tab. 6, Fig. 1, Ref. 16). Full Text in free PDF www.bmj.sk.
Retrospective evaluation of emergency service patients with poisoning: A 3-year study
Advances in Therapy, 2005
The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the characteristics of cases of acute poisoning in adults who were admitted to emergency service over a 3-year period. Clinical charts were analyzed retrospectively for etiologic and demographic patient characteristics. A total of 810 adults were admitted to the emergency center with acute poisoning. The female-to-male ratio was 2:1. Mean ages of female and male patients were 28.8±12.9 years and 35.1±15.4 years, respectively, and many patients (46.9%) were between the ages of 16 and 25 years. Medicinal drugs were found to be the primary cause (60.5%) of poisoning, and tricyclic antidepressants were the most frequent causative agents (36.3%). Seasonal distribution of poisoning cases suggested a peak in the summer months (35.4%). Overall, 68.6% of acute poisonings were suicide attempts, and of these patients, 84.9%, 14%, and 1.1% were attempting suicide for the first, second, and third times, respectively. Among 810 cases of acute poisoning, 15 were fatal. The following conclusions were reached by investigators: (1) in the test region, younger females, especially single females, were at greater risk for poisoning than other patient groups, (2) selfpoisoning cases constituted the majority of all poisonings, and (3) the main agents of self-poisoning were medicinal drugs, with antidepressants used most frequently. It was also found that unintentional poisoning commonly resulted from intake of foods, especially mushrooms.