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Acute poisoning in children
1Toxicology Unit, Soroka Medical Center and Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. matyl@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
Insights
Childhood poisoning patterns vary by age and gender, with unintentional poisonings common in young males due to accessible products. Adolescent poisonings are often intentional and occur in females.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Toxicology
- Public Health
- Child Safety
Background:
- Childhood poisoning remains a significant pediatric challenge.
- Often linked to inadequate parental supervision and accessible hazardous products.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze acute poisoning patterns in children across different age groups.
- To identify age-related trends in pediatric poisoning incidents.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of pediatric patients hospitalized for acute poisoning.
- Data collected over a 5-year period (1994-1998) at Soroka Medical Center.
- Focus on age-specific poisoning characteristics.
Main Results:
- 1,143 children admitted for poisoning between 1994-1998.
- Peak poisoning incidence in children aged 2-5 and adolescents aged 14-18.
- Unintentional poisonings more frequent in males under 14; intentional poisonings prevalent in females aged 14-18.
- Drugs were the most common agent across multiple age groups; cleaning products also significant in younger children.
- Poisoning times varied by age, with peak incidents in the late afternoon/early evening for younger children and extending into the night for adolescents.
- Medicinal errors and accessible home products were common causes in children aged 2-13.
Conclusions:
- Distinct patterns of pediatric poisoning exist based on age and gender.
- Accessible home products and supervision lapses contribute to unintentional poisonings, particularly in males.
- Adolescent poisonings are predominantly intentional and affect females.
- Preventative strategies should include parental education and enhanced supervision, especially during high-risk hours.
Background:
Childhood poisoning continues to challenge the diagnostic and treatment skills of the pediatrician. Generally, childhood poisoning can be attributed to suboptimal parental supervision and accessibility of products with poisoning potential.
Objective:
To evaluate the pattern of acute poisoning in children with relation to different age groupings.
Methods:
Pediatric patients hospitalized for acute poisoning at the Soroka Medical Center over a 5 year period (1994-98) were evaluated retrospectively. Special attention was given to poisoning in relation to age groupings.
Results:
During the years 1994-98 a total of 1,143 children were admitted for acute poisoning to the Soroka Medical Center. The majority of cases occurred in children aged 2-5 and 14-18 years. Males under 14 had a higher frequency of poisoning, the poisoning usually being unintentional, whereas poisoning in females occurred mostly in the 14-18 age group and was intentional. Drugs were the most common agent of poisoning in infants (0-1 year), in older children (10-13 years), and in adolescents (14-18 years), while in children aged 2-5 and 6-9 years either cleaning products or drugs were the usual agents of poisoning. Most poisonings in children aged 2-13 occurred between 4 and 8 p.m., and for most adolescent patients (14-18 years old) between 4 p.m. and midnight. Poisoning in children aged 2-13 were usually due to accessible home products, and to medicinal errors such as overdose and improper drug administration.
Conclusions:
This study defines the characteristic pattern of pediatric poisoning with respect to different age groups and gender. Unintentional childhood poisoning predominated in males and occurred mostly because of accessible home products and suboptimal parental supervision during critical hours of the day. Most adolescent poisoning occurred in females and was intentional. Parental education and intensified child supervision are indicated measures of prevention for unintentional poisoning.