ABSTRACT
Recently, childhood poisoning has become one of the most pressing concerns in injury epidemiology. The aim of this study is to identify the main risk factors in unintentional childhood poisoning. The present study is individual method case-control based in a hospital [case; n = 140, control; n = 280] in Tehran 1392. Cases with controls are matched on sex and age. Then children's parents are interviewed to determine demographic, behavior, previous poisoning, addiction and mental disease in the family, accessibility of poisoning products, and household size, using semi-structured interview by standard questionnaire. Finally invariable-multi adjusted Conditional Logistic Regression models were constructed. Narcotic poisoning was of highest prevalence among the cases [58.6%]. The majority of the poisonings occurred at home [96.4%]. The invariable model showed that maternal occupation, parent education, smoker parent, previous poisoning, addiction and mental disease in the family, accessibility of poisoning products, and household size all related to unintentional childhood poisoning. Finally, the multi-adjusted model in stepwise manner showed that addiction in the family [OR = 14.6, p <0.001], previous poisoning [OR = 7, P <0.001], maternal occupation [OR = 4, P = 0.016], and accessibility of poisoning products [OR = 0.03, P <0.001] associated with outcome. Addiction in the family as risk factor and inability to access poisoning products had the most association with unintentional childhood poisoning. It is recommended that public health planning focus on these two factors.
ABSTRACT
Children are vulnerable to different sort of injuries, including poisoning which may have inevitable effects and even significant mortality among this group. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of poisoning-related deaths in Loghman hospital in Tehran. It was an existing-data type study from March 1995 to March 2004; all intoxication fatalities of under 12 year-old subjects which had been occurred in Loghman hospital were reviewed. Demographic data were reviewed for each case via a questionnaire and reported with descriptive statistics. A total of 11150 childhood severe poisonings were hospitalized during this period, of which 37 [0.33%] died. 32.4% were dead on arrival time. Male to female ratio was 1.2/1. The majority of fatalities occurred in children aged 1-4 years [59.1%]. Their mean age was 4.3 +/- 3.5 years old. All poisonings happened accidentally. Thirty [81%] of exposures were via ingestion and most of them were in summer [37.8%]. Most of deaths had not occured in Tehran but in rural areas or other cities and 35% reffered to hospital with more than 6 hours delay. Hydrocarbons were the most common cause of mortality [27%] followed by carbon monoxide, poisonous mushrooms and opium [10.8% for each of them], organophosphates pesticides and botulism [co-ingested with rice tablet] [8% for each], mercury vapor [5.4%] and scorpion sting and corrosive acid ingestion [2.7% for each] and 13.5% were other drugs. Our study points out the need to proper management of childhood dangerous poisoning like hydrocarbons, opium, organophosphates, etc. We also have to bear in mind that the prevention is an important issue