[Acute poisonings in Barcelona. Epidemiology and therapeutic considerations (author's transl)]

During the first semester of 1977, 330 patients were admitted with acute intoxication to a general hospital in Barcelona, representing 1.8% of the total admissions through the Emergency Room during that time. The patients with acute intoxication were distributed as follows: 48.2%, voluntary intoxication; 39.1%, household accidents; and 11.8%, acute alcoholic intoxication. While most household accidents occurred in children less than 5 years of age (87.5%), suicidal attempts were seen mostly between ages 13 and 30. Regarding sex distribution, 68.6% of suicidal attempts occurred in females, while males accounted for 82.1% of admissions for acute alcoholism. No seasonal distribution of the different types of intoxication could be detected. Concerning the type of toxic compound implicated, household accidents were due principally to drug ingestion (47.7%) followed by ingestion of caustics, detergents, and other cleansing products (37.1%), while most (88.8%) suicidal attempts were due to drug ingestion. In both cases the drugs more frequently utilized were, in this order, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, alcohol, analgesics, and antidepressants. As far as it regards gravity of intoxication, benzodiazepines offered the greatest margins of security. It was observed that gastric cleansing was carried out independently of the age and level of consciousness of the patient and without regards to the time elapsed between ingestion of the offending agent and first evaluation. It was also noted that diuresis was enhanced in 40% of cases without pharmacological justification. Finally, therapeutic plans are discussed and measures to rationalize them are proposed.