Exogenous intoxications due to suicide attempts in an intensive care unit

Abstract

Introduction: The acute exogenous intoxications are as old as humanity. Objective: To characterize the patients with acute exogenous intoxication attributable to suicide attempt. Method: A descriptive and retrospective study of 26 patients with this diagnosis, assisted in the Intensive Cares Unit of Orlando Pantoja Tamayo Teaching General Hospital in Contramaestre,Santiago de Cuba, was carried out from January to December, 2017. The analyzed variables were: age groups, sex, occupation, toxics used by these patients,Glasgow scale at admission, use of charcoal and time of use, as well as type of treatment. Results: In the series the 20-39 and 40-59 years patients prevailed, as well as the psycho drugs, followed by organophosphorus compounds, anti-inflammatory and histamine antagonists as the most used toxics. In more than half of those affected patients theGlasgow scale oscillated between 9 and 13 points. The gastric lavage and charcoal were the most used detoxification methods. Conclusions: The exogenous intoxications constitute a true medical emergency, therefore, it is important to keep in mind the time between the accident and the treatment. The earlier the required medical intervention, the better will be the final prognosis of these patients; reason why the actions in the primary care level are determining.

Keywords

• intoxicación exógena, intento suicida, psicofármacos, carbón activado, escala de glasgow.