Emergency care outcomes of acute chemical poisoning cases in Rawalpindi

Abstract

Objective: To assess the emergency care outcomes of acute chemical poisoning cases in tertiary care settings in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Methods: The data were extracted from an injury surveillance study conducted in the emergency departments (ED) of three tertiary care hospitals of Rawalpindi city from July 2007 to June 2008. The World Health Organization standard reporting questionnaire (one page) was used for recording information. Associations of patients' characteristics with ED care outcomes, i.e., admitted vs. discharged were assessed using logistic regression models. Results: Of 62530 injury cases reported, chemical poisoning was identified in 434 (0.7%) cases. The most frequent patient characteristics were poisoning at home (61.9%), male gender (58.6%), involving self-harm (46.0%), and youth aged 20–29 years (43.3%). Over two-thirds of acute poisoning cases (69.0%) were admitted. Acute poisoning cases were more likely to be admitted if they were youth aged 10–19 years [odds ratio (OR) = 4.41], when the poisoning occurred at home (OR = 21.84), and was related to self-harm (OR = 18.73) or assault (OR = 7.56). Conclusions: Findings suggest that controlling access of poisonous substances in youth and at homes might reduce related ED care burden. Safety promotion agencies and emergency physicians can use these findings to develop safety messages.

Keywords

• Acute chemical poisoning
• Emergency care
• Pakistan
• Toxicity