Poisoning in children

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Published on: May 8, 2014

N A Buch1, K Ahmed, A S Sethi

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Government Medical College, Srinagar.

Indian Pediatrics
|May 1, 1991
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric poisoning cases, primarily from medicines and chemicals, are frequent, especially in toddlers. Judicious phenothiazine use is advised to reduce toxicity risks in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Toxicology
  • Public Health
  • Clinical Pediatrics

Background:

  • Poisoning remains a significant cause of pediatric hospital admissions.
  • Understanding common etiological agents and demographics is crucial for prevention.
  • Phenothiazine toxicity presents a specific concern in pediatric poisoning cases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the trends and characteristics of pediatric poisoning cases over a six-year period.
  • To identify the most common poisoning agents and contributing factors.
  • To evaluate the role of phenothiazines in pediatric poisonings and suggest safer alternatives.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 670 pediatric poisoning admissions.
  • Data collection on patient demographics, poisoning agents, and outcomes.
  • Categorization of poisoning types (accidental, iatrogenic, suicidal).

Main Results:

  • Poisoning accounted for 0.9% of pediatric admissions; 45% of cases were in children aged 1-4 years.
  • Medicines and chemicals were the leading agents (53%), followed by pesticides (15%) and kerosene (11.2%).
  • Accidental poisoning was most common (70%), with an overall mortality rate of 1.8%.

Conclusions:

  • Medicines, chemicals, and pesticides are primary causes of pediatric poisoning.
  • Accidental ingestions are the predominant form of poisoning in children.
  • Judicious use of phenothiazines as antiemetics is recommended, with a shift towards less toxic alternatives.

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