Chronological Variations of Children Poisoning Causes in Zahedan, South of Iran

BACKGROUND: Poisoning is a common pediatric emergency among children and adolescents in the Emergency Department of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences hospital. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was comparing the characteristics and variations of pediatric poisoning between two retrospective studies (1998 and 2008). We hypothesized that the epidemiology of pediatric patients admitted for poisoning is related to variations of environmental agents and drug usage. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Records of 170 patients from 1998 and 147 from 2008 with acute poisoning were retrospectively evaluated and compared. RESULTS: Poisoning mostly occurred in children younger than five years old via oral route (72.94%-87%) and by single exposure (94.12%-96.6%). It was also noted that 86.8%-90% of cases were accidentally poisoned. Drugs were the most common poisoning agents in both studies (52.94% and 37.41%, respectively) and analgesics-antipyretics were the most common poisoning drugs. Drug poisoning was more common among children under five years old in both the studies. Neurological signs including lethargy and coma were the main presenting signs. About 80%-95% of cases were referred to the hospital within three hours of poisoning and supportive-symptomatic therapy was provided to them; charcoal/naloxone was administered for most of the patients (26.2% in 2008 and 21% in 1998). Mortality rate due to drug poisoning was 3-4 cases in both studies; but, non-drug poisoning mortality rate was higher. CONCLUSIONS: Preventable accidental poisoning is a significant cause of morbidity in children in developing countries. The study provided information on evolving trends and the need for increasing awareness about potential toxins as well as appropriate storage of toxins in the house to reduce the occurrence of accidental poisoning.