Emergency Medicine Admissions of Pediatric Intoxicated Cases

Objective: In this study, we aimed to analyze the demographic features and mortality rates of pediatric patients admitted to the emergency department and diagnosed with intoxication. Material and Methods: Patients admitted to the pediatric emergency department and diagnosed with intoxication between December 01, 2009 and December 31, 2010 were included in the study. Patients were evaluated through the examination of registration forms and hospitalization files. The characteristics, including age, sex, admission type to the emergency department, treatment before admission, time passed before admission, consciousness level at the time of admission, cause of poisoning, toxic agent, treatment administered after admission, outcome, and mortality rates, were recorded. Results: In our study, 1029 cases were included; 66.47% of the patients were female, and the female/male ratio was found to be 1.98/1. Poisoning was most frequently seen in the group of 13-18-year-old patients (56.17%). Patients were admitted mostly in the spring. The most frequent cause of poisoning was administration of drugs (81.8%), among which paracetamol was the most common and antidepressants were the second most common drugs. Suicide rate was 56.07%, and 54 patients (5.2%) had attempted suicide for the second time. Also, 85.71% of the patients were admitted to the emergency room within the first 2 hours. Conclusion: In order to minimize the rate of poisoning cases, preventive measures, education of the family, more secure storage of drugs, more prudent production of drugs in boxes by pharmaceutical companies, and prevention of childhood poisoning by regional epidemiological studies should be promoted.(JAEM 2014; 13: 67-70)