TOXINZ, the New Zealand Internet poisons information database: The first decade

Area of Science:

• Toxicology
• Information Science
• Public Health

Background:

• The New Zealand National Poisons Centre developed an electronic poisons information database over several years.
• This database was released in 2002 as toxinz™, an internet-accessible version.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the utilization of the TOXINZ database by New Zealand subscribers.
• To emphasize the specific use of pharmaceutical monographs within the database.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective review of New Zealand subscriber access records for TOXINZ monographs from January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2012.
• Collection of telephone inquiry data from the New Zealand National Poisons Centre for the same period.

Main Results:

• Over 201,000 TOXINZ monographs were accessed between 2003 and 2012, with annual views doubling.
• Pharmaceutical monographs constituted the largest accessed group (65.7%), followed by chemicals (22.9%).
• Specific pharmaceuticals like venlafaxine, quetiapine, paracetamol, zopiclone, and tramadol showed high or increasing inquiry levels. Hospital telephone inquiries halved while total poisoning calls slightly increased.

Conclusions:

• The internet-accessible TOXINZ poisons information database is a highly utilized service of the New Zealand National Poisons Centre.
• The data indicates a shift towards online resource utilization for poison information.