Sociodemographic factors in organophosphate poisonings: a prospective study

The sociodemographic features of organophosphate poisonings (OPPs) in the east Anatolian region of Turkey were investigated in this study. All OPPs admitted to the Emergency Department of Yüzüncü Yil University Medical Faculty Hospital in Turkey from 1 April 1999 to 31 August 2001 were prospectively studied. Data collected included age, gender, education, employment and marital status, socioeconomic levels, time and route of exposure of the toxic agents, treatment before admission, duration of hospitalization and complications. The proportion of OPPs was 15.1% among 564 poisonings. Fifty-seven (67.1%) patients were female, 28 (32.9%) were male. Fifty-six (65.9%) cases were attempted suicides and 29 cases (34.1%) were due to accidental events. Mean age was 22.1 +/- 9.2 years in the suicidal cases and 43 (76.8%) of them were less than 24 years (P = 0.001). Among the suicide attempts, 29 (51.8%) patients were unmarried and 43 (76.8%) patients were female. The attempted suicide proportion was 46.4% in men and 75.4% in women (P = 0.008). Eighty per cent of cases had a primary education level or were illiterate and 78.8% of the patients were in the lower socioeconomic status. The patients' mean arrival time to the hospital after poisoning was 4.4 +/- 3.7 (1-15) hours and mean hospitalization duration was 4.9 +/- 4.1 (1-32) days. Exposure routes were gastrointestinal in 75 (88.2%), respiratory in five (5.9%), dermal in four (4.7%) and both dermal and respiratory in one case (1.2%). Seventeen patients (23.5%) were admitted to the ICU and four (4.7%) of them died. In conclusion, OPPs especially affected young unmarried females, and most of them were due to attempted suicide. As OPP is the important cause of morbidity and mortality in the region, therapy should be started as early as possible so undesirable consequences can be avoided.