Survey of patients with acute poisoning seen in the Emergency Department of the University Hospital of Gent between 1983 and 1990.

In a prospective study of 4234 patients with acute poisoning in the Emergency Department of the University Hospital of Gent in Belgium between 1983 and 1990, we observed a decline in the number of poisonings from 665 in 1983 to 424 in 1990. This was due to a decrease in the number of deliberate self-poisonings. Fifty-six per cent of patients were female and the most prevalent age group was 20 to 24 years. There was no seasonal variation. The substances most frequently taken were benzodiazepines (55% of the deliberate self-poisonings), ethanol in combination with other substances (35.8%), barbiturates and older hypnotics (18.6%), non-narcotic analgesics (13.3%) and tricyclic antidepressants (11.6%). Carbon monoxide accounted for 65.1% of all the accidental poisonings. With regard to treatment, a reduction in gastric lavage was observed. The patients were transferred to the intensive care unit (29.2%), the psychiatry ward (23.6%) or discharged home (27.8%). Only 0.3% of the patients died in the Emergency Department.