Assessment of severity and outcome of poisoning before and during the era of COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affects health care facilities worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the pattern, severity and outcome of the intoxication in patients presented to the Poison Control Center of Ain Shams University Hospitals (PCC-ASUH) during COVID-19 pandemic (2020) and to compare the results with those of the previous year (2019). METHODS: This comparative cross-sectional study included all poisoned patients presented to PCC-ASUH from January 2019 to December 2020. We analyzed socio-demographic data, intoxication data, the severity of intoxication using poisoning severity score, and the outcome of poisoning. RESULTS: The total 21,492 patients were presented to PCC-ASUH in 2019 compared to 16,021 patients in 2020. A significant decrease in 2020 in poisoning rates in the majority of age groups, except for the age groups (25–40 years) and > 40 years. There was a considerable increase in suicidal poisoning and overdose due to drug abuse. A significant rise in poisoning from alcohols and anticoagulants in 2020 was observed. Delay time to hospital arrival was significantly longer in 2020 than in 2019. In terms of the severity and mortality, the number of severe cases was significantly higher along with an increase in the mortality rate during 2020 compared to 2019. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 has significantly affected the usual intoxication pattern. The current study reported higher exposure to anticoagulants and alcohols during the pandemic. The lockdown status led to increasing the delay time of hospital arrival resulting in more severe cases and higher mortality rates.