An epidemiological study of acute poisoning in children in a tertiary care hospital of western Rajasthan, India

Abstract

Background:Poisoning is one of the important reasons for children’s admission to hospital. Knowledge of epidemiology of poisoning in each region plays an important role in planning prevention, care and treatment of patients. This study was conducted to determine the characteristics of acute poisoning epidemiology in children attending pediatric hospital in Bikaner, Rajasthan, India in a one year period (October 2013 to September 2014).Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 177 children admitted for poisoning. After admission of the patients we took detailed history including demographic profile, clinical sign and symptoms and general physical examination. All these parameters were recorded in pre designed performa and analyzed using SPSS 22 software. Results:Males were more involved than females. The maximum no. of cases are belong to rural than urban.75.7% cases are belong to 1-3 years age group and maximum cases are belong in summer season and minimum in winter season and prevalence of poisoning was 1.12%.Conclusions:High prevalence of poisoning with groups of drugs mentioned could indicate community-wide excessive use of these drugs, as well as negligence of families in keeping them out of children’s reach. Therefore, raising knowledge and awareness about variety of poisoning and how to prevent them, through holding workshops, national media, schools, and health centres can be a valuable step toward upkeep of children’s health.