Hanssens Y, Deleu D, Taqi A
Pharmacy Department, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 2001;39(4):371-80. doi: 10.1081/clt-100105158.
The health care system in Oman is characterized by its rapid development and free medical services for all its nationals although traditional medicine still plays a major role in daily life. Epidemiological data on poisoning are scanty.
To determine the annual rate of poisoning-related Accident & Emergency Department visits at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Oman and to evaluate, in both children and adults, the etiologic and demographic characteristics of poisoning cases. The poisoning pattern is contrasted to that of other countries.
A prospective observational study included all symptomatic and asymptomatic poisoning-related Accident & Emergency Department visits over 4 years (1996-1999). Data were recorded on a specifically designed poison reporting form.
Two hundred and four poisoning-related Accident & Emergency Department visits were recorded corresponding to an average annual rate of 1.8/1000 Accident & Emergency Department visits. Therapeutic agents were most commonly involved (50% of all cases). Accidental poisoning in toddlers was most commonly caused by drugs. Intentional poisoning in adults involved mainly therapeutic agents (50%), particularly analgesics, followed by industrial and environmental agents (25%). Animal poisoning (14%) was most commonly encountered in adult males. Traditional remedies constituted 7% of all poisoning cases. A total of 148 patients (73%) were admitted for 1 to 175 days.
Compared to studies performed in urban hospitals in other countries, (1) the annual rate of poisoning-related Accident & Emergency Department visits was substantially lower, (2) psychoactive drugs were less frequently incriminated in intentional ingestions, and (3) we found a significantly higher frequency of poisoning by animals and traditional remedies than reported by urban hospitals in other Middle Eastern countries. The limitations of our study (Accident & Emergency Department-based data collection in an urban hospital) do not permit extrapolation to the rest of the country.
阿曼的医疗保健系统以其快速发展和为所有国民提供免费医疗服务为特点，尽管传统医学在日常生活中仍发挥着重要作用。关于中毒的流行病学数据很少。
确定阿曼苏丹卡布斯大学医院中毒相关急诊就诊的年发生率，并评估儿童和成人中毒病例的病因及人口统计学特征。将中毒模式与其他国家进行对比。
一项前瞻性观察性研究纳入了4年（1996 - 1999年）期间所有有症状和无症状的中毒相关急诊就诊病例。数据记录在专门设计的中毒报告表格上。
记录了204例中毒相关急诊就诊病例，平均年发生率为每1000次急诊就诊1.8例。治疗药物最常涉及（占所有病例的50%）。幼儿意外中毒最常见的原因是药物。成人故意中毒主要涉及治疗药物（50%），尤其是镇痛药，其次是工业和环境制剂（25%）。动物中毒（14%）在成年男性中最常见。传统药物占所有中毒病例的7%。共有148名患者（73%）住院1至175天。
与其他国家城市医院的研究相比，（1）中毒相关急诊就诊的年发生率显著较低，（2）精神活性药物在故意摄入中毒中较少被认定，（3）我们发现动物和传统药物中毒的频率明显高于其他中东国家城市医院的报告。我们研究的局限性（城市医院基于急诊科的数据收集）不允许将结果外推至该国其他地区。
