Exposures to traditional automatic dishwashing tablets and a comparison with exposures to soluble film tablets reported to the United Kingdom National Poisons Information Service 2008-2015.

AbstractIntroduction: Traditional automatic dishwashing tablets are contained within an external wrapper that requires removal prior to use.Objective: To determine the toxicity of traditional tablets and to compare this with our previously reported experience of soluble film dishwashing tablets.Methods: Telephone enquiries regarding traditional tablets were analysed retrospectively for the period January 2008 to December 2015.Results: Traditional tablets: There were 503 enquiries relating to 492 patients who had been exposed to a traditional tablet. Most involved children aged 5 years or less (87.4%). The majority (78.6%) of patients did not develop symptoms after exposure; 21.1% developed minor (PSS 1) symptoms while one patient developed moderate features. Exposure occurred predominantly as a result of ingestion (n = 476, 96.7%); the most common feature in symptomatic patients (n = 99, 20.8%) was vomiting (70 [14.7%] cases). Significantly (p < 0.0001) more adults (44.9% of 49 adults; 95% CI = 31.9–58.7)...