RESUMO
Acute drug overdosing is an important cause of organ dysfunction and metabolic derangements and the patients often require intensive care. This study aims to determine the clinical pattern of severe drug overdose as well as the factors influencing the duration of intensive care. The clinical characteristics and course of consecutive adult patients admitted with a diagnosis of acute drug poisoning in the ICU of a tertiary hospital in Oman from January 2007 to December 2008 were reviewed retrospectively from the electronic case records. Acute drug poisoning [n=29] constituted 3.9% of admissions to the ICU. Mean age was 29.38 +/- 7.9 years. They were brought in by their relatives [72%] or the state services [24%]. Accidental poisoning was noted in 21 patients [72%] and suicidal overdosing in 6 [21%]. The commonest drug was an opioid [65.5%]. Glasgow Coma Scale score of