K Shreekrishna H, Singi Yatiraj, V Chandan, Dabhi Dipen
Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Basaveshwara Medical College & Hospital, Chitradurga, IND.
Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bilaspur, IND.
Cureus. 2022 Dec 9;14(12):e32369. doi: 10.7759/cureus.32369. eCollection 2022 Dec.
Background Most poisoning events among children are preventable and the major reason is lack of supervision by adults, including poor knowledge and attitude toward storage of such items. So, the prevention policy on children's poisoning shall take into account the age group, gender, socioeconomic status, residence, and other aspects such as the knowledge and attitude of adults. The present study was conducted to describe the profile of poisoning in the paediatric population in a tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods Our observational study was retrospective and was conducted at Basaveshwara Medical College and Hospital (BMCH), Chitradurga, Karnataka, under the Department of Forensic Medicine for a duration of three months (February 2021 to April 2021). Institutional ethical approval was obtained prior to the start of the study. As our study participants were paediatric patients (0-17 years) with acute poisoning (excluding homeopathic drug ingestion), a total of 81 paediatric patients' case sheets were finally reviewed and analysed. The data of paediatric poisoning cases were collected in a predesigned study proforma and included details about children's age (in years), gender (male, female), residence (rural, urban), outcome (death, discharge), nature of poisoning (accidental, suicidal), and toxic agents in poisoning. The collected data were entered and analysed in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA). Results The incidence of acute poisoning among the paediatric population in our teaching hospital was 1.4%. The most common age group with acute poisoning was 13-17 years (30.9%). The prevalence of acute poisoning was higher in male children (56.8%) when compared to female children (43.2%). Around three-fourths of paediatric cases (71.6%) with acute poisoning were having a rural residence. The overall mortality rate among children due to acute poisoning was 9.9%. The most common toxic agents involved in acute poisoning among children were organophosphate compounds (35.8%), followed by organochlorine compounds (30.9%) and pyrethrum compounds (11.1%). Conclusion From this study, we concluded that acute poisoning among children is mainly accidental, and the most common toxic agent responsible for the poisoning is pesticide or insecticide. Most poisoning events among children are preventable, and the major reason is a lack of supervision by adults, including poor knowledge and attitude toward storage of such items.
大多数儿童中毒事件是可预防的，主要原因是成人缺乏监管，包括对这类物品储存的知识不足和态度不当。因此，儿童中毒预防政策应考虑年龄组、性别、社会经济地位、居住情况以及成人的知识和态度等其他方面。本研究旨在描述一家三级护理教学医院儿科人群的中毒情况。
我们的观察性研究是回顾性的，在卡纳塔克邦奇特拉杜尔加的巴萨韦什瓦拉医学院和医院（BMCH）法医系进行，为期三个月（2021年2月至2021年4月）。研究开始前获得了机构伦理批准。由于我们的研究参与者是急性中毒（不包括顺势疗法药物摄入）的儿科患者（0至17岁），最终共审查和分析了81份儿科患者的病历。儿科中毒病例的数据通过预先设计的研究表格收集，包括儿童年龄（岁）、性别（男、女）、居住情况（农村、城市）、结局（死亡、出院）、中毒性质（意外、自杀）以及中毒中的有毒物质等详细信息。收集的数据录入Microsoft Excel电子表格（微软公司，华盛顿州雷德蒙德）并进行分析。
我们教学医院儿科人群中急性中毒的发生率为1.4%。急性中毒最常见的年龄组是13至17岁（30.9%）。与女童（43.2%）相比，男童急性中毒的患病率更高（56.8%）。约四分之三的急性中毒儿科病例（71.6%）居住在农村。儿童急性中毒的总体死亡率为9.9%。儿童急性中毒中最常见的有毒物质是有机磷化合物（35.8%），其次是有机氯化合物（30.9%）和除虫菊酯化合物（11.1%）。
通过本研究，我们得出结论，儿童急性中毒主要是意外事件，导致中毒最常见的有毒物质是农药或杀虫剂。大多数儿童中毒事件是可预防的，主要原因是成人缺乏监管，包括对这类物品储存的知识不足和态度不当。
