Acute Pharmaceutical Poisoning among Children in Baghdad, Iraq: A Prospective Hospital-Based Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59675/M412Keywords:
acute pharmaceutical poisoning; poisoned children; drug storage; parental education; frequency of poisoningAbstract
Background: Although the impact of acute pharmaceutical poisoning on pediatric emergency admissions is a major public health problem around the world, the burden of acute pharmaceutical poisoning in Baghdad and the patterns of drug storage and parental education and understanding remains poorly understood.
Objectives: To describe the demographic, socioeconomic and household factors associated with acute pharmaceutical poisoning among children under 12 years of age admitted to a tertiary Emergency Department in Baghdad and to determine the frequency of the poisoning.
Method: A prospective descriptive study was conducted for 6 months (1 March – 1 September 2016) in a children’s teaching hospital in Baghdad. Children under 12 years who were admitted with accidental pharmaceutical poisoning were all included. Age, gender, storage place and accessibility, parental education, place of residence, drug type and formulation, clinical presentation, time to presentation, management and outcome related informations were captured and analyzed using the chi-square test (SPSS v23) with a p value of < 0.05 and is regarded as significant.
Results: 68 (60.71%) were males and 44 (39.29%) females out of 112 children, (p<0.05). Most resided in urban areas (84.82% vs 15.17% rural, p<0.05). Drugs were stored within a child’s reach (<150 cm) in 78.58% of cases, most often in the bedroom (56.25%) or kitchen (30.35%) (p<0.05). The highest proportion of cases was associated with maternal illiteracy (47.32%) and paternal education level showed no consistent association.
Conclusions: The analgesics were the most commonly reported drug class for acute drug poisoning, while the illiterate mothers, the urban dwellers and the boys were more prone to acute drug poisoning. Children presented 1-5 hours post ingestion were asymptomatic and only treated with observation, and no death was reported.
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