Pattern of acute poisoning in children in a tertiary care hospital in eastern Nepal

Background: Acute poisoning in children is a major preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study is to analyze the current pattern of acute poisoning in children. Methods: This study was a retrospective hospital based analysis of data in children with acute poisoning admitted from January 2013 to December 2013. The demographic profile and outcome were recorded and analyzed. Results: A total number of 64 children (36 males & 28 females) were admitted with acute poisoning. It constituted 3.4% of the total admissions and 4.4% of the total deaths. The maximum number of children 25 (39.1%) was of the age group 1 to 5 years. Fifty-one (79.7%) were admitted in Ward and 13 (20.3%) in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) among which 4 (6.25%) patients were put in mechanical ventilation. The most common poison involved was organophosphorus compounds 24 (37.5%) followed by mushroom 16 (25%) and kerosene 11 (17.2%). Mean time interval between ingestion and admission to hospital was 6.87 ±8.33 hours. The majority of the poisoning 28 (44%) occurred between 2pm to 7 pm. Forty-nine (76.6%) of the poisonings were non-intentional and 14 (21.6%) were intentional. Average duration of hospital stay was 4.14±1.94 days and vomiting was the commonest clinical manifestation. Of all the patients, 28 (43.8%) received pre-referral treatment, 44 (68.8%) antidotes and 22 (34.4%) gastric lavage. Conclusions: In our study, most of the poisoning was non-intentional and 1 to 5 years old children were at greater risk for poisoning. The main substance was organophosphorus.