Mortality and morbidity associated with acute poisoning cases in north-east India: A retrospective study

Poisoning is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in India and also a major health problem worldwide. Majority of the studies shows that insecticides and pesticides compounds are the most widely used agents for poisoning.

A retrospective study was conducted to explore the hospital records of patients with acute poisoning cases. A structured proforma used to collect data regarding patients' demographic information, incidence of poisoning, cause and type of poisoning, clinical presentation of patient, treatment, and prognosis. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics.

A total 505 patient files with poisoning cases were admitted at emergency department. The mean age of the patients was 28.43 ± 14 years (range 1-84 years). In gender-wise ratio, male patients (59%) were higher than the females (39%). The occurrence of poisoning was high 209 (41.38%) in young adult with age of 21-30 years. The causes of poisoning were suicide in 63.96% of cases. In majority, 310 (61.38%) patients consumed insecticides or pesticides. About 51.1% patients were treated at locally available medical facilities and 48.9% cases were brought to tertiary care center directly for the treatment. About 258 (51.08%) patients treated with gastric lavage, and for 9 (1.8%) patients endotracheal intubation was performed. The average stay in the hospital was 12.53 ± 7.53 days and mortality was 42 (8.31%).

This study highlights that the incidence of poisoning and its morbidity and mortality can be reduced by development and implementation of effective intervention at primary level by health care providers and strategies on preventive aspect.