Retrospective And Case Control Analyses Of Hospital Admissions Due To Drug Overdose And Chemical Poisoning

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Date
2005-01
Authors
ELHASSAN, AHMED IBRAHIM FATHELRAHMAN
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Abstract
Acute pOlsonmg poses a significant health problem. In Malaysia, annual nationwide data on poisoning is scarce and incomplete. A few studies have been conducted in the east coast of Malaysia and in the capital city. To our knowledge, no studies have been conducted in the northern region of the country. This work has been set to determine the pattern of acute drug and chemical poisoning at Pulau Pinang Hospital (PPH) and to compare poisoning pattern between different ethnic groups. We also wish to determine factors associated with adult's admissions at the hospital due to acute poisoning. The first study was a retrospective case review of all poisoning patients admitted to PPH during the years 2000-2002. Data were collected concerning demographic parameters of patients, information about the poison(s) implicated and circumstances surrounding the event. The second study was a case- control study conducted over 18 weeks. 100 acutely poisoning adult patients, consecutively admitted to PPH during the period from 15 September 2003 to the third of February 2004 were considered as cases. 200 patients admitted to the same medical wards for other illnesses during the same period, matched for age and gender with the poisoning cases were selected as controls, McNemar test and binary logistic were used for univariate analysis and logistic regression statistic for multivariate analysis. In the first study, 493 poisoning cases were studied. Nearly two-thirds of the poisoning cases involved female patients. The predominant mode of poisoning was intentional (51.5%), versus 39.8% accidental. The age group 15-30 years ranked at the top, constituting 55.6% of cases. Overall, drugs were the predominant agents implicated. Among cases associated with drugs, paracetamol was the main causative agent (44.7%). Chinese constituted 37.7% of all poisoning cases, followed by the Indians (31.6%) and Malays (26.6%). In the second study, "boy/ girl friend problems", "Indian ethnicity", 'Chinese ethnicity" and "living in household with less than 5 persons" were among significant factors associated with adult admissions at PPH due to general poisoning or self-poisoning. Admissions due to pOlsonmg at PPH is increasing every year. There were marked differences in patterns and characteristics of acute poisoning compared to the previous reports of poisoning in this country. The identified factors can be used as a guide for developing poison control programs.
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Retrospective And Case Control Analyses , Of Hospital Admissions Due To Drug Overdose And Chemical Poisoning
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