Analysis of Pediatric Patients Presenting to a Reference Child Hospital with Poisoning Complaint

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Although it has different mortality and morbidity rates all over the world, childhood poisoning has an important place among childhood health problems. The increase in health expenditures, retention time and loss of labor caused by poisonings cause the problem not only to be medical but also social aspects. METHODS: In addition to demographic data of 1043 pediatric patients admitted to our hospital with poisoning complaints, pre-admission intervention, place of poisoning, admission time, agent and time of poisoning, time elapsed after poisoning, admission findings, hospitalization period, diagnostic tests applied and treatment modalities were evaluated retrospectively with their prognosis. RESULTS: Of the 1043 cases, 54.5% were female. Female ratio increased to 82% in 139 suicides. When the causes of poisoning is examined, 47.2% were related to drugs, 41.5% were industrial and 5.4% were agricultural products, 2.7% due to CO, 2.6% were depending on the food,0.5% due to unknown factors and 0.2% occured with animal bites. Gastric-lavage, activated-charcoal, intravenous-fluid regimen (33%) was the most common treatment. Two of the three mortal cases were due to colchicine. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Although the development in the diagnosis and treatment of poisonings is pleasing, the most accurate approach to this issue will be to increase the protective measures. In addition to these standard measures, each country should set priorities in line with its own epidemiological study. Regarding the higher mortality rate (22%) we may suggest that clinicians should be more careful and aggressive in the diagnosis and treatment of colchicine intoxications, which can be associated with mortality even at low doses.

Keywords

• poisoning
• pediatric
• colchicine
• carbon monoxide
• suicide