Epidemiological and Clinical Features of Acute Poisoning in Children in a Referral Teaching Hospital in Iran, 2015 - 2018

 Poisoning is one of the most common medical emergencies in young children. Substantial differences in socioeconomic and cultural situations cause various epidemiological patterns of acute poisoning with different poisonous agents.

 We aimed to determine the extent of pediatric poisoning in a referral teaching hospital in the center of Iran.

 The electronic database of Qods Children Hospital in Qazvin, Iran, was searched for children younger than 12 years old and referred for acute poisoning from 2015 to 2018. The cases (n = 184) were classified according to their age, gender, symptoms at the time of admission, the toxins, and their types.

 The frequency of poisoning in boys was more than girls (M/F = 1.49). The mean age of the patients was 3.4 years, and the average length of stay in hospital was 1.3 days. Children poisoned with petroleum products had the highest average stay (3.10 days). Although more than 65 agents were identified as the poisoning agents, narcotics were the most common category (n = 62, 33.7%), and methadone was the most common agent in our study (n = 46, 25%). Central nervous system symptoms were recorded more than other signs and symptoms on admission or during the stay. Only two patients (1.1%) had been discharged with complications.

 With predominance for boys, most of the children had toxicity with medications. Methadone, other narcotics, and psychotropic medications were the most common agents that indicate a need for more severe control and education for prevention from poisoning in children.