On-Year Study on Pattern of Acute Pharmaceutical and Chemical Poisoning Cases Admitted to a Tertiary Care Hospital in Thrissur, India

Background: Identification of regional pattern of poisoning is essential for health care authorities for proper planning on prevention programs and optimized management of antidote stockpiles. This study was designed to evaluate one-year epidemiologic pattern of acute poisoning cases treated at a tertiary care hospital in Thrissur, India. Methods: In this retrospective cross sectional study, medical records of patients with the diagnosis of acute pharmaceutical and chemical poisoning admitted to Jubilee Mission Hospital (JMH), during 1st October 2012 to 30th September 2013 were reviewed. Results: During the study period, 168 poisoned patients (59.5% women) were treated at emergency department of JMH. Married patients outnumbered unmarried ones (55.4% vs. 44.6%). The highest number of patients aged 21 to 30 years (31.5%) followed by patients with 11-20 years of age (17.3%). Most of the poisonings occurred following suicidal ideation (72.6%). Familial disharmony (14.3%) was the most common reason behind suicidal ingestions, followed by mental disorders (11.3%). Drug poisoning made up the largest proportion of poisoning-related admissions (43.5%) followed by pesticide poisoning (37.5%). Among poisoning with pharmaceutical agents, most cases were due to paracetamol (13.7%) followed by anti-psychotics and sedatives (5.4%). In pesticide poisonings, the most common classes ingested by the patients were rodenticides and organophosphates. The most common household items ingested by the patients were petroleum products. The average length of hospital stay was 5.5 days. Seven patients (4.2%) died, of which 4 were due to organophosphates followed by 2 due to carbamates and one due to rodenticide ingestion. Conclusion: Pharmaceutical and pesticide products were identified as the main cause of poisoning. This finding warrants educational programs for adequate safety measures on storage and use of these substances.