Epidemiology of Pediatric Acute Poisoning in Southern Iran: A Hospital-Based Study

To determine the epidemiology of acute childhood poisoning in Shiraz, southern Iran.

This was a prospective cross-sectional descriptive study, being performed in Nemazee and Dastgheib Hospitals affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The study included pediatric patients (<18 years) referred to our centers due to acute poisoning. Demographic and etiological factors were prospectively recorded and analyzed.

A total of 773 patients with mean age of 3.86 ± 1.5 years were recruited in the study. The most common group which included 352 (45.5%) patients, aged between 8 months and 5 years followed by 330 (42.6%) cases aged from 12-18 years. In majority of cases, poisoning was due to opium in 222 (23.5%) followed by analgesics in 181 (19.1%), which mostly included acetaminophen in 75(7.9%), anti-depressants in 170 (17.9%), anti-hypertensive drugs in 65 (6.8%) and hydrocarbons in 60 (6.3%). There were 260 (33.7%) boys and 513 (66.3%) girls. The poisoning occurred inadvertently in 387 (50.1%) cases while 298 (38.5%) patients committed suicide. Most cases (255 patients; 32.9%) were asymptomatic at presentation.

Our study substantiated the following findings: A) Alarmingly, opium is the most common cause of acute childhood poisoning in our area. B) Easy access to toxic material is the most common risk factor for acute childhood poisoning. C) Female predominance of acute childhood poisoning accompanied by high rate of suicidal attempts shows that psychiatric problems, especially depression is most common among young girls.