Gender based differences in patients of poisoning managed at a Medical Unit

Poisoning is a nationwide hazard. This was a cross-sectional observational study carried out from 2016 to 2017 focused on indoor patients of poisoning at the District Headquarters Hospital, Rawalpindi. We studied the gender-based differences in patients of poisoning to decipher information related to poisoning in which we noted eight variables. For the study 180 patients were included of which 54.4% were males and the rest females. Married patients outnumbered unmarried patients - 70.7% females and 50.2% males. The mean age was 30±12.9 and 27±12.6 respectively. Patients were predominantly of urban residence (56.1% & 52.4% respectively). Deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) was the most common intent among both genders, 81.7% in females and 72.4% among the males in contrast to accidental poisoning which was 23.5% in males and 18. 3 % in females. Aluminum-phosphide, organophosphates, snakebite and corrosive intake were the most common form of poisonings. Unknown causes of poisoning were found significantly more in males (P=0.001), while corrosive intake was more common among the females (P=0.002). Mean duration of hospitalisation for all was 4.22±3.5 days. Out of the 180 patients of poisoning, 18% expired as a result. Conclusively, among married women poisoning is more significant, homicidal poisoning is exclusive to males and corrosive poisoning is predominant in females.