Epidemiological aspects of childhood poisonings in Ankara: a 10-year survey

In the 10-year period 1975-1984, 1188 children were admitted to the Children's Hospital of Hacettepe University in Ankara with a diagnosis of poisoning. Retrospective analysis of their medical records showed that the incidence of poisoning with medicinal drugs was 64.0%, while pesticides accounted for 17.8% and plants for 6.7% of total cases. The majority (69.9%) of cases were due to accidental poisoning, 70.6% of which occurred in children under 5 years of age; 15.1% of the poisonings were diagnosed as therapeutic mishaps of which 68.3% involved children under 5 years of age. Analgesics (186 cases), barbiturates (176 cases) and tranquilizers (37 cases) were the most common drugs encountered, however, the two drugs most frequently overused were aspirin (146 cases) and Optalidon (175 cases). Overall mortality was 4.9% (58 cases). Fifty per cent of fatalities were due to accidental poisoning while 41.4% (24 cases) were due to therapeutic mishaps. This study is presented as a background to the need for the development of a Poison Information Service for Ankara.