Clinical spectrum of acute poisoning in children admitted to the pediatric emergency department

Background: Pediatric poisoning is a common emergency worldwide. Routine surveillance is required for public health authorities and physicians to update strategies for prevention and management of pediatric poisoning. This study investigated the epidemiology of poisoning among children admitted to a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jung Lee, Nai-Chia Fan, Tsung-Chieh Yao, Shao-Hsuan Hsia, En-Pei Lee, Jing-Long Huang, Han-Ping Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2019-02-01
Series:Pediatrics and Neonatology
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875957217302954
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850189006102331392
author Jung Lee
Nai-Chia Fan
Tsung-Chieh Yao
Shao-Hsuan Hsia
En-Pei Lee
Jing-Long Huang
Han-Ping Wu
author_facet Jung Lee
Nai-Chia Fan
Tsung-Chieh Yao
Shao-Hsuan Hsia
En-Pei Lee
Jing-Long Huang
Han-Ping Wu
author_sort Jung Lee
collection DOAJ
description Background: Pediatric poisoning is a common emergency worldwide. Routine surveillance is required for public health authorities and physicians to update strategies for prevention and management of pediatric poisoning. This study investigated the epidemiology of poisoning among children admitted to an emergency department (ED). Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. Data were collected from patients under 18 years old (y/o) presenting with poisoning at the largest ED in North Taiwan from 2011 to 2015. Results: Five-year records of 590 patients—309 (52.3%) boys and 281 (47.7%) girls—were analyzed. The mean age was 5.07 y/o (Standard Deviation [SD] = 5.02 years), and 94.7% of events occurred at home. Incidence was highest from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. (42.2%, n = 249). Most patients younger than 11 y/o were male, but this gender distribution was reversed in adolescents (11–17 y/o). Pharmaceutical ingestion (41.4%, n = 244) was the leading cause of poisoning; pesticide was the most common non-pharmaceutical poison ingested (9.5%, n = 55). Carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication (87.6%, n = 99) and snakebite (75%, n = 9) were the common causes of inhalation (n = 113) and venom (n = 12) poisoning, respectively. The mean duration of the ED stay was 5.45 h (SD = 7.39 h), and 101 cases (17.2%), including 21 cases (3.6%) requiring intensive care, were admitted to the hospital. All patients survived. Conclusion: Most poisonings occurred in young children, at home, by unintentional ingestion of a single substance, from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Female adolescents were the common intentional poisoning patients and pharmaceutical ingestion was the leading cause of poisoning. This kind of information enables ED physicians to improve preparations for pediatric poisoning cases and allows public health authorities to sharpen the focus of poisoning prevention efforts. Key Words: children, emergency department, intentional, poisoning, toxicology
format Article
id doaj-art-d67d51a5271f47608c2f26e42281ea77
institution OA Journals
issn 1875-9572
language English
publishDate 2019-02-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Pediatrics and Neonatology
spelling doaj-art-d67d51a5271f47608c2f26e42281ea772025-08-20T02:15:42ZengElsevierPediatrics and Neonatology1875-95722019-02-01601596710.1016/j.pedneo.2018.04.001Clinical spectrum of acute poisoning in children admitted to the pediatric emergency departmentJung Lee0Nai-Chia Fan1Tsung-Chieh Yao2Shao-Hsuan Hsia3En-Pei Lee4Jing-Long Huang5Han-Ping Wu6Division of Pediatric General Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linko, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanDivision of Pediatric General Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linko, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanCollege of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Division of Pediatric Allergy, Asthma, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linko, Kweishan, Taoyuan, TaiwanCollege of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linko, Kweishan, Taoyuan, TaiwanDivision of Pediatric General Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linko, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linko, Kweishan, Taoyuan, TaiwanCollege of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Division of Pediatric Allergy, Asthma, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linko, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Corresponding author. Division of Pediatric Allery, Asthma, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linko, No. 5, Fu-Hsin Street, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Fax: +886 3 3288957.Division of Pediatric General Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linko, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Corresponding author. Division of Pediatric General Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linko, No. 5, Fu-Hsin Street, Kweishan, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Fax: +886 3 3288957.Background: Pediatric poisoning is a common emergency worldwide. Routine surveillance is required for public health authorities and physicians to update strategies for prevention and management of pediatric poisoning. This study investigated the epidemiology of poisoning among children admitted to an emergency department (ED). Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. Data were collected from patients under 18 years old (y/o) presenting with poisoning at the largest ED in North Taiwan from 2011 to 2015. Results: Five-year records of 590 patients—309 (52.3%) boys and 281 (47.7%) girls—were analyzed. The mean age was 5.07 y/o (Standard Deviation [SD] = 5.02 years), and 94.7% of events occurred at home. Incidence was highest from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. (42.2%, n = 249). Most patients younger than 11 y/o were male, but this gender distribution was reversed in adolescents (11–17 y/o). Pharmaceutical ingestion (41.4%, n = 244) was the leading cause of poisoning; pesticide was the most common non-pharmaceutical poison ingested (9.5%, n = 55). Carbon monoxide (CO) intoxication (87.6%, n = 99) and snakebite (75%, n = 9) were the common causes of inhalation (n = 113) and venom (n = 12) poisoning, respectively. The mean duration of the ED stay was 5.45 h (SD = 7.39 h), and 101 cases (17.2%), including 21 cases (3.6%) requiring intensive care, were admitted to the hospital. All patients survived. Conclusion: Most poisonings occurred in young children, at home, by unintentional ingestion of a single substance, from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Female adolescents were the common intentional poisoning patients and pharmaceutical ingestion was the leading cause of poisoning. This kind of information enables ED physicians to improve preparations for pediatric poisoning cases and allows public health authorities to sharpen the focus of poisoning prevention efforts. Key Words: children, emergency department, intentional, poisoning, toxicologyhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875957217302954
spellingShingle Jung Lee
Nai-Chia Fan
Tsung-Chieh Yao
Shao-Hsuan Hsia
En-Pei Lee
Jing-Long Huang
Han-Ping Wu
Clinical spectrum of acute poisoning in children admitted to the pediatric emergency department
Pediatrics and Neonatology
title Clinical spectrum of acute poisoning in children admitted to the pediatric emergency department
title_full Clinical spectrum of acute poisoning in children admitted to the pediatric emergency department
title_fullStr Clinical spectrum of acute poisoning in children admitted to the pediatric emergency department
title_full_unstemmed Clinical spectrum of acute poisoning in children admitted to the pediatric emergency department
title_short Clinical spectrum of acute poisoning in children admitted to the pediatric emergency department
title_sort clinical spectrum of acute poisoning in children admitted to the pediatric emergency department
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875957217302954
work_keys_str_mv AT junglee clinicalspectrumofacutepoisoninginchildrenadmittedtothepediatricemergencydepartment
AT naichiafan clinicalspectrumofacutepoisoninginchildrenadmittedtothepediatricemergencydepartment
AT tsungchiehyao clinicalspectrumofacutepoisoninginchildrenadmittedtothepediatricemergencydepartment
AT shaohsuanhsia clinicalspectrumofacutepoisoninginchildrenadmittedtothepediatricemergencydepartment
AT enpeilee clinicalspectrumofacutepoisoninginchildrenadmittedtothepediatricemergencydepartment
AT jinglonghuang clinicalspectrumofacutepoisoninginchildrenadmittedtothepediatricemergencydepartment
AT hanpingwu clinicalspectrumofacutepoisoninginchildrenadmittedtothepediatricemergencydepartment