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Frequency of post-poisoning exposure information provided to patients requiring emergency care
1Central New York Poison Control Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Syracuse, USA.
Insights
Most children experiencing unintentional poisonings in healthcare facilities (HCF) do not receive crucial poison prevention information. This highlights a significant gap in educating families to prevent future poison exposures.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Public Health
- Toxicology
Background:
- Pediatric unintentional poisoning is a frequent occurrence, with previous exposures increasing future risk.
- Current preventative efforts are insufficient to curb the incidence of childhood poisonings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the frequency of poison prevention information dissemination to child care providers in health care facilities (HCF).
Main Methods:
- A prospective telephone survey was conducted with 100 cases of unintentional poisonings in children aged 1-5 years referred to HCF.
- Cases involving intentional or chronic exposures were excluded from the study.
Main Results:
- Only 20 out of 100 surveyed cases received poison prevention information.
- A significant majority (80 cases) received no prevention materials upon discharge.
- Most patients (93) were discharged from the emergency department, making home follow-up challenging.
Conclusions:
- Healthcare facilities frequently fail to provide essential poison prevention education to families of poisoned children.
- There is a critical need for standardized poison prevention discharge packets to ensure comprehensive education and reduce recurrent poisonings.
Abstract:
Pediatric unintentional poisoning is common despite preventative efforts. Children who have had a poison exposure are at increased risk for subsequent exposure. The purpose of our trial was to determine how often poison prevention information is provided to child care providers in health care facilities (HCF). This was a prospective telephone survey of 100 cases of unintentional poisonings of children ages 1-5 y referred to a HCF. Excluded were cases of patients that had intentional or chronic exposures. Eighty cases received no prevention material; 20 cases received Poison Prevention Information. Ninety-three of the patients were discharged from the emergency department, 6 patients were discharged from a pediatric floor, and 1 was discharged from a Pediatric ICU. Follow up calls to home may be difficult after the patient is referred to a HCF and many families did not receive poison prevention materials. This study indicates the need for a poison prevention discharge packet to be distributed to provide uniform and complete poison prevention education.