Azizi B H, Zulkifli H I, Kassim M S
Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur.
Med J Malaysia. 1994 Jun;49(2):132-7.
Circumstances surrounding accidental ingestion of poisons were investigated in families of 70 hospitalised children. Indian children were more likely to be hospitalised for poisoning. Poor safety measures directly contributed to poisoning incidents. Poisons had not been stored safely and only in 12.9 per cent of families were the poisons allegedly kept in cupboards. Kerosene had been ingested from soft drink containers in 70 per cent of instances. Medications had been taken mainly from plastic envelopes (57.9%) or bottles (31.6%). Safety practices in the homes of cases and 140 controls were compared. As a whole parents of victims had poor safety practices when compared with parents of controls. Poisoning incidents were discovered by mothers in 75.0 per cent of the cases. Vomiting was induced by parents in 32.3 per cent of cases involving medications and non-volatile items, and in 41.6 per cent of kerosene ingestions. Before hospitalisation 59.4 per cent were brought to general practitioners and 22.7 per cent to government clinics. Mothers were the main attendants when children were brought for medical care. This study highlights the need for measures to prevent childhood poisoning and reduce its morbidity. Household products and medications should be made safer to children through improved packaging, prescribing instructions and education. Safety and first aid education may be directed towards parents, particularly mothers, through the media and health facilities.
对70名住院儿童家庭中意外摄入毒物的情况进行了调查。印度儿童因中毒住院的可能性更高。安全措施不力直接导致了中毒事件。毒物没有妥善储存，据称只有12.9%的家庭将毒物存放在橱柜中。70%的情况下，煤油是从软饮料容器中摄入的。药物主要从塑料信封（57.9%）或瓶子（31.6%）中获取。对70例病例家庭和140名对照家庭的安全措施进行了比较。总体而言，与对照家庭的父母相比，受害者家庭的父母安全措施较差。75.0%的病例中毒事件是由母亲发现的。在涉及药物和非挥发性物品的病例中，32.3%的病例以及41.6%的煤油摄入病例中，父母诱导了呕吐。住院前，59.4%的儿童被送往全科医生处，22.7%的儿童被送往政府诊所。儿童就医时，母亲是主要陪同人员。这项研究强调了采取措施预防儿童中毒并降低其发病率的必要性。应通过改进包装、处方说明和教育，使家用产品和药物对儿童更安全。可通过媒体和卫生设施，针对父母，尤其是母亲，开展安全和急救教育。
