Abstract

Background and Objectives: Poisoning in pediatric age group is one of the most common emergencies encountered in pediatric practice. Poisoning in children are mostly accidental, and most cases are preventable. Surge in incidence of acute poisoning episodes are attributable to increased use of various chemical substances in households.

Objectives: To ascertain the epidemiology, clinical profile and immediate end result of children presented to PICU with acute poisoning in a tertiary care hospitals attached to JJMMC Davangere.

Materials and Methods: The study was an observational study conducted over a period of 1 year from December 1^st 2017 to December 1^st 2018 with 273 cases of poisoning in paediatric age group. Target populations were Children with poison intake history of with or without clinical features, with uncertain history of poisoning but with clinical features of acute poisoning.Relevant investigations were done whenever required. All the cases were managed according the latest standard guidelines. Data was tabulated and statistically analyzed.

Results and Interpretation: Out of 273 patients admitted 113 cases (41.39%) belonged to age group between 1 to 6 years of age. where males (141) outnumbered females (132). A total of 183 cases (67.03%) were due to accidental poisoning, 77 cases (28.20%) due to suicidal and 13 cases (4.76%) were due to homicidal poisoning. Out of all major toxic agents involved, hydrocarbons (144, 52.74%) were consumed among major number of children reported. Maximum i.e. 119 cases were due to kerosene poisoning followed by 56 cases due to OP compounds. Most common symptoms observed were vomiting in 203 patients followed by respiratory distress in 107 patients and altered sensorium was observed in 77 patients. Out of 273 poisoning cases, total mortality had been reported in 11 patients (4.02%), Out of 11 cases mortality due to OP compounds stand highest (5, 45.45%).

Conclusion: Parental awareness and education plays vital role in obviating the accidental poisoning in children.

Keywords: Poisoning; Kerosene; Accidental; Hydrocarbons; Vomiting; Altered Sensorium

References

1. Taft C., et al. “Childhood unintentional injury worldwide: meeting the challenge”. American Pediatric Emergency Care 21 (2010): 248-251.
2. Jesslin J., et al. “Assessment of Prevalence and Mortality Incidences Due to Poisoning in a South Indian Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital”. Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 5 (2010): 587-591.
3. Manzar N., et al. “The study of etiological and demographic characteristics of acute household accidental poisoning in children – A consecutive case series study from Pakistan”. BMC Pediatrics 10 (2010): 28.
4. Kohli U., et al. “Profile of Childhood Poisoning at a Tertiary Care Centre in North India”. Indian Journal of Pediatrics 8 (2008): 791-794.
5. Bhat NK., et al. “Profile of poisoning in children and adolescents at a north Indian tertiary care centre”. Indian Academy of Clinical Medicine 1 (2011): 37-42.
6. Ratigeri VH., et al. “Profile and outcome of acute Pediatric poisoning”. Karnataka Pediatric Journal2-3 (2011): 63-66.
7. Arindam Bandyopadhyay and PijushKanti Mandal. “Clinical profile and outcome of acute poisoning in children and adolescent in a tertiary care center”. Asian Journal of Medical Sciences3 (2017): 76-80.
8. Yang CC., et al. “Children poisoning in Taiwan”. Indian Journal of Pediatrics 64 (1997): 468-483.
9. Gupta SK., et al. “A study of childhood poisoning at national poisons information centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi”. Journal of Occupational Health 45 (2003): 191-196.
10. Gauvin F., et al. “Hospitalizations for pediatric intoxication in Washington state, 1987-1997”. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 155 (2001): 1105-1110.

Citation

Citation: Sachin KR., et al. “Epidemiology, Clinical Profile and Immediate Outcome of Poisoning in Children in Tertiary Care Hospital". Acta Scientific Paediatrics 4.1 (2021): 15-18.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Sachin KR., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.