Effectiveness of a regional poison center in reducing excess emergency room visits for children's poisonings.

A study was done to assess the necessity of hospital care for poisoning episodes in children less than 5 years old and to evaluate the impact of a regional poison center on the use of emergency rooms for pediatric poisonings. Of the pediatric patients seen in emergency rooms for acute poisonings, 63% did not require the services of a hospital; 95% did not contact the regional poison center before going to the hospital. When all poisoning episodes were considered, the regional poison center was found to reduce significantly pediatric visits to emergency rooms. Of parents who did not call the poison center, 44% went to an emergency room whereas less than 1% of parents who called the poison center went to a hospital (P less than .001). Moreover, 28% of those who did not call made unnecessary visits to the hospital compared with only 0.5% of parents who called the poison center (P less than .001). A regional poison center was found to be an effective means of decreasing unnecessary hospital visits for pediatric poisonings. Regional poison centers, however, need to further their impact by addressing outreach efforts to parents who do not call poison centers, emergency rooms, and pediatricians.