Epidemiology of pediatric acute poisoning in southern Iran: a hospital-based study

To determine the epidemiology of acute childhood poisoning in Shiraz, southern Iran. This was a prospective cross-sectional descriptive study, being performed in Nemazee and Dastgheib Hospitals affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The study included pediatric patients [<18 years]referred to our centers due to acute poisoning. Demographic and etiological factors were prospectively recorded and analyzed. A total of 773 patients with mean age of 3.86 +/- 1.5 years were recruited in the study. The most common group which included 352 [45.5%] patients, aged between 8 months and 5 years followed by 330 [42.6%] cases aged from 12-18 years. In majority of cases, poisoning was due to opium in 222 [23.5%] followed by analgesics in 181 [19.1%], which mostly included acetaminophen in 75 [7.9%], anti-depressants in 170 [17.9%], anti-hypertensive drugs in 65 [6.8%] and hydrocarbons in 60 [6.3%]. There were 260 [33.7%] boys and 513 [66.3%] girls. The poisoning occurred inadvertently in 387 [50.1%] cases while 298 [38.5%] patients committed suicide. Most cases [255 patients; 32.9%] were asymptomatic at presentation. Our study substantiated the following findings: A] Alarmingly, opium is the most common cause of acute childhood poisoning in our area. B] Easy access to toxic material is the most common risk factor for acute childhood poisoning. C] Female predominance of acute childhood poisoning accompanied by high rate of suicidal attempts shows that psychiatric problems, especially depression is most common among young girls

Predictive value of the cow's milk skin prick test in infantile colic

Infantile colic is a common problem among young infants. Cow's milk allergy has been suggested as one of the causes. We aimed to investigate the value of the cow's milk skin test for the diagnosis of cow's milk allergy in exclusively breast-fed infants with infantile colic. Exclusively breast-fed infants with infantile colic were enrolled in this study. On the first visit, the average hours of crying of the infant in a 24-h period were recorded and the cow's milk skin test was performed. If the infant had a positive skin test, elimination of cow's milk from the mothers' diet was advised. Infants with negative skin tests were divided into case and control groups. Cow's milk was eliminated from the diet of mothers in the case group. After 2 weeks, the number of hours of crying were recorded again. The reduction in the crying hours was compared between the two groups using the chi-square test. Skin tests were positive in 3 of 114 cases [2.6%] of infantile colic. All three cases recovered completely following elimination of cow's milk from the mothers' diet. Among the 111 patients with negative skin tests, 77 patients completed the study: 35 in the case group and 42 in the control group. The reduction in crying hours in infants in the case group was not significantly different from that in the control group. Elimination of cow's milk from the mothers' diet is not beneficial for infants with a negative skin test. Infants with a positive skin test may benefit from this management