CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUALS PRESENTING WITH POISONING CASES IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT OF A TERTIARY HOSPITAL

Dr. Pritish Tarafder*, Professor ABM Saiful Alom, Dr. Mousumi Mondal, Dr. Palash Tarafder, Dr. Goutam Kumar Mondal, Dr. Md. Zahirul Huq and Dr. Asiful Islam

ABSTRACT

Background: Incidents of poisoning are relatively common occurrences within the country. This prevalence may be attributed to various factors such as the widespread availability and use of chemicals, pesticides, household products, and industrial substances that can pose health risks if not handled properly. Objective: In this study our main goal is to evaluate the profile of Poisoning cases attending in the emergency Department of a Tertiary Hospital. Method: This cross-sectional study was carried out at tertiary medical college and hospital from January 2023 to January 2024. A total of 1109 patients included in the study were those who had undergone exposure to poison either by household or agricultural pesticides, snake bite, industrial toxins, or miscellaneous products. Results: During the study, we observed that the majority were belong to 14-23 years age group, 39.5% followed by 35.5% cases belong to above 24-33 years, 12.4% belong to 34-43 years. In terms of gender distribution, 54.90% were female, while 45.10% were male. The most common agents of poisoning were harpic consuming, constituting 35.80% of cases, followed by organophosphorus compounds (OPCs) at 26.70% and insecticides at 25.88%. Benzodiazepines were involved in 9.55% of cases. Notably, 83.7% of cases resulted in survival, while 10% unfortunately led to fatalities, and 5.9% were cases of absconding. Conclusion: In our study of poisoning cases in the emergency department, we observed a relatively even gender distribution. Surprisingly, the highest incidence of poisoning was among individuals aged 14-23, in contrast to prior research. Household products were the primary agents of poisoning, with organophosphorus compounds, insecticides, and benzodiazepines also significant. These findings offer valuable insights into regional poisoning demographics and lay the foundation for future interventions and research aimed at reducing incidents and improving patient outcomes.

Keywords: Poisoning, household poison, insecticides.