Pattern of Childhood Poisoning and Intoxication in AL Salam Hospital Sadah -Yemen

Abstract

Background and objectives: The poisoning among children is a pediatric emergency and a worldwide problem that vary in different part of the world. The study aims to investigate the clinical profile and outcome of childhood poisoning and intoxication in Yemen. Patients and methods: All patients admitted to pediatrics wards in A-Salam Hospital -Sadah governorate for ingestion of poisons over period from January 2010 to December 2011 were included in this retrospective descriptive study. The targeted group was age between 6 months and 14 years of age. The data was collected from medical records retrospectively and was analyzed with SPSS 12.0 software. The results: Total number of cases was 660 patients. They were 368 (55.8%) females and 292 (44.2%) males with female to male ratio of 1.26:1 with age ranging from 6 months to 14 years. Of these, 476 patients (72.1%) were <5 years old. Pharmaceutic agents were identified in 502 patients (76.1%) with preponderance of psychotropics as the most frequently ingested drugs (33.9%) followed by tricyclic antidepressants (27.1%). Non-pharmaceutic agents were identified in 158 patients (23.9%), 54.4% of which were pesticides. The majority of all cases were accidental poisonings (90%) mainly by pharmaceutics that occurred mostly in children <5 years old (72.1%). Then come self-inflicted intoxications (8.2%) which demonstrated the highest ratio in children >10 years old (6.7%). Conclusion: Intoxications are serious health problem especially among children <5 years old. Preventive measures such as implementation of the use of child-proof drug prescription bottles and efforts towards public education and keeping drugs and poisons away from the reach of children may reduce the risks