Pattern and Outcome of Acute Poisoning Cases in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Eastern Nepal

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The global problem of acute poisoning hasconstantly increased over the last few years. It is a majorcause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries.Appropriate preventive and management strategies can bedeveloped if the incidence and pattern of acute poisoningis known. This study aimed to determine the profile andoutcomes of acute poisoning patients admited to the hospitalthrough emergency department of a tertiary care hospital.Material and Methods: A hospital based retrospective studywas performed in the patients admitted to tertiary hospital withthe history of poisoning for the period of one year. Severalparameters were analyzed and compared with other studies.Results: Seventy-nine patients were presented with acutepoisoning during our study period. The age of the patientvaried from 11 to 63 years. The mean age was 27.76±15.5%.Females (53.2%) were dominant over males (46.8%). Patientsaged between 21 to 30 years were the most common age groupinvolved with poisoning. Subjects were most commonlyaffected by organophosphorous poisoning followed bychemical poisoning.Conclusion: Poisoning by agents like drugs (pesticides) andorganophosphorus compounds are alarming situation andthese occur mostly during adolescent period. Governmentregulations, educational awareness and poison informationcentres will help to decrease the growth of this public healthproblem: