The utility of poison control centres in diagnosing and managing cases of poisoning and overdose

The practice of establishing poison control centres is yet to catch on in a big way in India, even though most developed countries have this concept well in place. This has helped these countries in diagnosing and managing cases of poisoning and overdose much more effectively, thereby bringing down the morbidity and mortality, while India lags far behind with a staggering mortality rate, much of which is because of lack of access to latest methodologies of diagnosing and managing poisoning, as also the lack of facility to analyse body fluids and other samples for the presence and/or concentration of the toxic agent or its metabolites. Establishing properly equipped and staffed poison control centres would constitute a major step in ameliorating the situation, as exemplified by the Cochin (Kerala) experience, which has a fully equipped poison control centre in a major hospital that is recognised by the World Health Organisation.