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Accidental ingestions in childhood
Insights
Accidental poisoning in children, particularly toddlers, is common, often involving household products and medications. Caregiver awareness of safety measures is low, highlighting a need for increased education to prevent these incidents.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Toxicology
- Public Health
- Emergency Medicine
Background:
- Accidental poisoning is a significant concern in pediatric populations.
- Understanding the common agents and circumstances surrounding poisoning is crucial for prevention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the patterns and characteristics of accidental poisoning cases in children admitted to a hospital.
- To identify common ingestants, contributing factors, and outcomes.
- To assess caregiver knowledge of poisoning prevention measures.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 112 accidental poisoning cases admitted over a 2-year period (December 1990-December 1992).
- Data collection included patient demographics, ingested substances, circumstances of ingestion, and hospital stay.
- Follow-up included advising caregivers on safety measures.
Main Results:
- Boys constituted 54% of cases, with toddlers (1-3 years) being the most affected age group.
- Oral medications (49%) and household liquids (16%) were the most common ingestants.
- Ingestions frequently occurred during holidays due to preoccupied caregivers; caregiver quantification of ingested products was poor.
- Mean hospital stay was 2.5 days; no fatalities occurred. Less than 10% of caregivers had prior knowledge of safety measures.
Conclusions:
- Accidental pediatric poisoning is a preventable public health issue.
- Targeted educational interventions for caregivers on safe storage and handling of medications and household products are essential.
- Improved caregiver awareness and vigilance are critical to reducing the incidence of childhood poisoning.
Abstract:
One-hundred and twelve cases of accidental poisoning were admitted over a 2-year study period (December 1990 to December 1992). Data was collected upon admission and patients were subsequently followed-up. Fifty-four percent of admission were boys. Majority of them were toddlers between the ages of 1 and 3 years. Thirty percent of accidental ingestions occurred during the school/public holidays. These occurred when the caretakers were preoccupied. Forty-nine percent of patients ingested oral medication; 16% ingested household liquids and the rest ingested other household products like cockroach tablets and thermometer mercury. The most commonly ingested medications were paracetamol, salicylate and bronchodilators, whilst chlorox, kerosene and detergents were the common household liquids ingested. The ability of the caregivers to quantitate the ingested product was poor. The mean hospital stay of the patients was 2.5 days. The majority of them were admitted for observation which did not require antidotes. Four cases were observed in the intensive care unit. There were no fatalities during the study period. Forty-four percent of the patients had samples taken for toxicology analysis, of which, less than half had positive results. All the patients were advised on the safety measures to look out for after admission. Less than 10% of cases had prior knowledge of such measures before the accidents occurred.