Temporal trends in calls for suicide attempts to poison control centers in France during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide study.

Concerns have been raised about early vs. later impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicidal behavior. However, data remain sparse to date. We investigated all calls for intentional drug or other toxic ingestions to the eight Poison Control Centers in France between 1st January 2018 and 31st May 2022. Data were extracted from the French National Database of Poisonings. Calls during the study period were analyzed using time trends and time series analyses with SARIMA models (based on the first two years). Breakpoints were determined using Chow test. These analyses were performed together with examination of age groups (≤ 11, 12-24, 25-64, ≥ 65 years) and gender effects when possible. Over the studied period, 66,589 calls for suicide attempts were received. Overall, there was a downward trend from 2018, which slowed down in October 2019 and was followed by an increase from November 2020. Number of calls observed during the COVID period were above what was expected. However, important differences were found according to age and gender. The increase in calls from mid-2020 was particularly observed in young females, while middle-aged adults showed a persisting decrease. An increase in older-aged people was observed from mid-2019 and persisted during the pandemic. The pandemic may therefore have exacerbated a pre-existing fragile situation in adolescents and old-aged people. This study emphasizes the rapidly evolving situation regarding suicidal behaviour during the pandemic, the possibility of age and gender differences in impact, and the value of having access to real-time information to monitor suicidal acts.

Toxicology Practice During COVID-19 Pandemic: Experience of the Dammam Poison Control Center-Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: The sudden emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and scarcity of the accurate information especially in the initial phase of the struggle presented a series of challenges to health systems. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the changes in poisoning cases regarding distribution, types, and characteristics for better framing and planning of the role of our field in responding to pandemics. METHODS: Study of telephone consultation calls and toxicology analysis records of poisoning cases referred to the Dammam Poison Control Center in Saudi Arabia during the first half of 2020. Their distribution according to frequencies, causes, and other characteristics was compared to the first half of 2019. RESULTS: Analysis of telephone consultation calls revealed that the proportion of exposure to disinfectants and hand sanitizers during first half of 2020 increased to 20.4% (n = 496) and 3.4% (n = 83), respectively, compared to 9.8% (n = 215) and 0.4% (n = 10) for surface disinfectants and hand sanitizers, respectively, during the first half of 2019. In 2020, exposure to disinfectants and hand sanitizers dominated in preschool children (0-5 years). The total number of cases suspected for drugs/drugs of abuse overdose during the first 6 months of 2020 (n = 783) showed a significant decrease (P < 0.001) compared to the first 6 months of 2019 (n = 1086). CONCLUSION: The increased availability and use of disinfectants and sanitizers significantly increased the risk of poisoning, especially in preschool-aged children. Public health education for prevention of such home exposures is urgently needed to avoid unnecessary emergency medical system use in such critical time.

How COVID-19 Lockdown in Italy Has Affected Type of Calls and Management of Toxic Exposures: a Retrospective Analysis of a Poison Control Center Database From March 2020 to May 2020.

INTRODUCTION: Between early March 2020 and the end of May 2020, Italy issued strict measures to limit further spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and became the first European country that imposed a lockdown on the population. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of these restricted conditions on the activity of the Poison Control Center (PCC) of Policlinico Umberto I Hospital-Sapienza University of Rome. METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of calls received by the PCC during the lockdown period March 9, 2020 through May 31, 2020 compared to the same time period in year 2019 (reference). RESULTS: We observed a reduction in calls from hospitals and emergency departments and an increase in calls from private citizens about exposures to products or intoxications during the lockdown. There were increases in unintentional exposures and exposures to hand and surface sanitizers among household and cleaning products. There was a decrease in calls concerning medications, which were mostly from hospitals and emergency departments. We observed increases in exposures requiring clinical observations among adults and referral to the emergency department among pre-school children. CONCLUSIONS: Public health protection measures against COVID-19 to improve hygiene and maintain clean environments can increase exposures to hazardous products in the domestic environment. We observed an increase in unintentional exposures to household and cleaning products during the lockdown and an increase in ED referrals for pre-school children compared to the previous year. Our data suggest the need for improvements in public campaigns that promote safer handling of household products and prevent unnecessary exposures during a lockdown. The public health promotion activity can benefit the community after the pandemic and prepare the community for lockdowns in the future.

Geospatial correlation between COVID-19 health misinformation and poisoning with household cleaners in the Greater Boston Area.

INTRODUCTION: Calls to poison control about exposure to household cleaners have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. This dynamic may reflect increased exposure from public health efforts as well as health misinformation shared on social media. METHODS: We analyzed the dynamics of calls to the Regional Center for Poison Control and Prevention serving Massachusetts and Rhode Island (MARI PCC) and tweets discussing treating COVID-19 with house cleaners from January 20, 2020 to May 5, 2020. We obtained publicly available tweets discussing the use of household cleaners to "cure COVID" from the same time period with geographic co-ordinates indicating that they were emitted from the Greater Boston Area. RESULTS: Our main finding is that public health efforts were followed by a sustained increase in calls after March 15, 2020 (10 ± 2 calls per day before to 15 ± 2.5 after) while misinformation on social media was associated with intermittent spikes in calls. Overall, calls significantly increased during the study period by 34% as compared to the previous 8 years, mostly reporting unintentional ingestions with no serious effects. The daily volume of tweets and retweets was significantly correlated with daily call rates to MARI PCC for the surrounding 7-10 days. CONCLUSIONS: Health misinformation on social media about using household cleaning agents to treat COVID-19 and public health efforts lead to different dynamics in PCC calls. Public health efforts were followed by a sustained increase in calls after March 15, 2020 while misinformation on social media was followed by intermittent spikes in calls. This analysis is the first to link the geospatial dynamics of social media and public health interventions to poison center calls about exposure to household cleaners.