Prognostic factors of Atractylis gummifera L. poisoning, Morocco

In Morocco, acute Atmctylis gummifera L. poisoning represents the leading cause of death by plant poisoning especially for children. All cases received in the Moroccan poison control centre from January 1981 to December 2009 [n = 467] were included in a retrospective study of the characteristics and risk factors of A gummifera L. poisoning The most vulnerable age group was children [63,4% of cases]. Most cases were due to accidental exposure [75.5%], but some were from therapeutic use [18.1%] or attempted abortion [7.4%]. Patients presented with moderate poison seventy signs [grade 2] in 22.3% of cases or severe signs [grade 3] in 21.0%. The mortality rate was 39.2%. The majority of deaths [81.1%] occurred in children aged < 15 years following accidental exposure. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that risk factors for mortality were coma [OR = 20.5]; hepatitis [OR = 52.7] and rural residence [OR - 7.26], while gastric decontamination was a protector factor [OR - 0.26]

Prevalence and preventability of adverse drug events in a teaching hospital: a cross-sectional study

We determined the prevalence of adverse drug events [ADEs] in a general teaching hospital in Rabat, Morocco. We performed a 5-day cross-sectional study of hospital departments recruiting inpatients and outpatients. Among the 1390 patients surveyed, 59 [4.2%] experienced at least 1 ADE and for 20 patients [1.4%] the ADE was responsible for hospitalization or prolongation of hospitalization. The ADE was classified as serious in 28 patients. Of the total of 76 ADEs, 10 [13.2%] were categorized as preventable; 6 of these occurred during the treatment monitoring phase. Patients who experienced an ADE were more likely to be women, to be younger [< 30 years] and to be hospitalized in medical departments

Scorpion stings in one province of Morocco: epidemiological, clinical and prognosis aspects

The present study aimed at verifying the impact of a Moroccan strategy against scorpion stings and, specifically, at identifying the epidemiological features of the patients envenomed or just stung by scorpions. The investigation included 4089 patients from a province of Morocco which were evaluated over three years (2001, 2002 and 2003). Most stings occurred during the hot period and mainly at night (between 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m.). The average incidence was 2.8‰, the average age of the patients was 26.7±18.2 years, and the envenomation rate was 6.7%. Mortality rate was 0.05‰, and average lethality rate was 0.7%. Analysis of variance showed that young age, symptoms at admission, and long time elapsed between sting and admission were correlated with poor outcome. Comparison among data of the three years revealed an increasing number of reported cases and decreasing morbidity and mortality.(AU)