Clinical profile and outcomes of childhood poisoning

Abstract

The patterns of accidental poisoning in children usually differ from country to country and from one region to another within the same country. This retrospective study was performed from January 2012 to December 2014 to determine the trends of childhood poisoning in urban area of Bangladesh. A total of 32 cases were analyzed completely; intention of poisoning was classified as accidental, suicidal and homicidal. The commonest age range for accidental poisoning was 1-5 years (64.7%). Suicidal poisoning was prevalent among mid adolescence group. The overall male to female ratio was 1:1; in case of accidental poisoning male to female ratio among preschooler was 2.66:1. All the patients were from urban background and drug overdose was the commonest cause of poisoning. Accidental poisoning was found in 53% of patients, suicidal 41% and homicidal 6% cases. The mortality was 3%. This study showed that boys at pre-school age group were at greater risk for accidental poisoning. Drug over dosage was the most common poisoning in this study. Alarmingly, accidental introduction of per rectal analgesic was the most common cause of acute poisoning during infancy in this study.