Toxic Agents Responsible for Acute Poisonings Treated at Four Medical Settings in Iran during 2012-2013: A Report from Iran's National Drug and Poison Information Center

Background: Acute poisoning has been reported to be the most common reason for hospitalization in Iran. This study was designed to delineate the toxic agents responsible for acute poisonings in Iran by reviewing poisoning cases treated at four major referral hospitals for treatment of poisoning across the country. Methods: This was a descriptive retrospective study on poisoned patients treated at four tertiary hospitals referral for poisoning in Iran, including Loghman Hakim Hospital (LHH) in Tehran, Imam Reza Hospital (IRH) in Mashhad, Noor and Ali Asghar Hospital (NAH) in Isfahan, and Ghaemshahr Razi Hospital (GRH) in Ghaemshahr, as reported to the National Drug and Poison Information Center during the years 2012 and 2013. Results: During the two-year study period, 61,187 poisoned patients (i.e. 32,107 patients in 2012 and 29,080 patients in 2013) were treated at the four hospitals. In these two years, 22,185 patients (36.3%) were treated at LHH, 22,160 patients (36.2%) at IRH, 10,897 patients (17.8%) at NAH and 5,945 patients (9.7%) at GRH. Cumulatively in all hospitals, the highest rate of admissions was due to drug poisoning (42,017, 68.7%), recreational substances overdose (7,302, 11.9%) and pesticide poisoning (5,217, 8.5%). Conclusion: Pharmaceutical products, substances of abuse and pesticides are the most common causes of poisoning-related admissions to referral Iranian poison treatment centers. Effective measures to reduce poisoning with these substances should be done.