Frequency, Outcome and Socio-Demographic Factors of Common Unintentional Childhood Poisoning, from a Tertiary Health-Care Teaching Hospital of a Low-Income Setting

Abstract

Background: Poisoning ranked 2nd among commonest injury and 3rd most common pediatric ED visits. National health survey of Pakistan estimated 4.3% unintentional poising among children <5 years of age. Most studies focus on types of poisoning; only a few highlighted the factors associated with ingestion. We try to document factors behind common pediatric household unintentional poisoning from the largest tertiary care teaching hospital of the country. Methods: Descriptive case series study, with a questionnaire-based non-probability consecutive sampling, conducted at the ED of National Institute of Child Health (NICH), Karachi during 2017-2018. The sample size was 253. Inclusion criteria were children of either gender aged 12 or below with a clear history of unintentional ingestion of poison. Results: We found male predominance (52%) and the common age was below 5 years. Most children were exposed to poison either during the afternoon or by early evening (79.05%), and mother/caregiver was not present around the child in 68% of cases. In 79% of cases mothers either had tenth grade or below education. A joint family system was present in 84 % of cases. Poor family class was found in 49% of cases. The most commonly ingested poisons were drugs (33.78%). The majority of the children were admitted (60.09%). Conclusion: Socio-demographic factors have a significant effect on childhood poisoning and by addressing them we can decrease unintentional poisoning cases in children.