Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology (대한임상독성학회지)

Korean society of Clincal Toxicology (대한임상독성학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Unintentional Pharmaceutical Poisoning in the Emergency Department

응급실로 내원한 비의도적 의약품 중독

  • Jo, Hyo Rim (Department of Emergency Medicine, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital) ;
  • Lee, Choung Ah (Department of Emergency Medicine, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital) ;
  • Park, Ju Ok (Department of Emergency Medicine, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital) ;
  • Hwang, Bo Na (Department of Emergency Medicine, Hallym University Graduate School)
  • 조효림 (한림대학교 동탄성심병원 응급의학과) ;
  • 이정아 (한림대학교 동탄성심병원 응급의학과) ;
  • 박주옥 (한림대학교 동탄성심병원 응급의학과) ;
  • 황보나 (한림대학교 일반대학원 임상응급의학과)
  • Received : 2018.08.23
  • Accepted : 2018.09.05
  • Published : 2018.12.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Purpose: The social environment of easy access to medicines and arbitrary personal decisions leading to overdose aggravate unintentional medicine poisoning. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of patients who visited emergency departments with unintentional medicine poisoning and reasons for poisoning based on age group. Methods: We retrospectively collected patients who experienced unintentional medicine poisoning based on data from the national injury surveillance system between 2013 and 2016. Subjects were classified into three groups based on age (0-14 years, 15-64 years, and ${\geq}65\;years$). We identified sex, insurance, time of poisoning, place, alcohol co-ingestion, hospitalization, death, and reason for poisoning in each age group. Results: A total of 27,472 patients visited an emergency department with poisoning during the study period; 1,958 patients who experienced unintentional poisoning were enrolled in this study. Respiratory medicine was the most frequent medicine in those younger than 15 years of age, and sedatives and antipsychotic drugs were the most common in patients older than 15 years of age. In total, 35.1% of patients older than 65 years were hospitalized. The most common reasons for poisoning were careless storage of medicine in those younger than 15 years of age and overdose due to arbitrary decisions in those older than 15 years of age. Conclusion: Unintentional medicine poisoning has distinct characteristics based on age group, and strategies to prevent poisoning should be approached differently based on age.

Keywords

References

  1. Hu YH, Chou HL, Lu WH, Huang HH, Yang CC. Features and prognostic factors for elderly with acute poisoning in the emergency department. J Chin Med Assoc 2010;73(2):78-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1726-4901(10)70006-X
  2. Kim A, Song H, Park N, Choi SC. Injury pyramid of unintentional injuries according to sex and age in South Korea. Clin Exp Emerg Med 2018;5(2):84-94. https://doi.org/10.15441/ceem.17.205
  3. World health statistics 2018: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2018.
  4. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2015. Leading cause of premature mortality in Australia fact sheet: accidental poisoning. Cat. no. PHE 201. Canberra: AIHW; 2015.
  5. Chung SP, Lee MJ, Kang H, Oh BJ, Kim H. Analysis of Poisoning Patients Using 2016 ED Based Injury in-depth Surveillance Data. J Korean Soc Clin Toxicol 2017;(2):86-93.
  6. Ko SH, Lee KW. Clinical Analysis of Acute Drug Poisoning Victims by Intentional Poisoning. J Korean Soc Emerg Med 2012;23(5):679-86.
  7. Lee JH, Oh SH, Park KN, Youn CS, Kim SH. Epidemiologic study of poisoned patients who presented to the emergency department of a high end medical facility in Seoul 1998-2009. J Korean Soc Clin Toxicol 2010;8(1):7-15.
  8. Chae SM. Drug Abuse and Policy Implications. Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs; 2018 Oct p. 66-76. Report No.: 228.
  9. Gummin DD, Mowry JB, Spyker DA, Brooks DE, Fraser MO, Banner W. 2016 annual report of the american association of poison control centers' national poison data system (NPDS): 34th annual report. Clin Toxicol 2017;55(10):1072-252. https://doi.org/10.1080/15563650.2017.1388087
  10. Karbakhsh M, Zandi NS. Pattern of poisoning in the elderly: an experience from Tehran. Clin Toxicol 2008;46(3):211-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/15563650701638982
  11. Afzali S, Seifrabiei MA, Taheri SK. Acute Poisoning in Elderly; a Five-Year Study (2008-2013) in Hamadan, Iran. Asia Pac J Med Toxicol 2015;4:143-6.
  12. Skarupski KA, Mrvos R. A profile of calls to a poison information center regarding older adults. J Aging Health 2004;16(2):228-47. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264303262628
  13. Borse NN, Gilchrist J, Dellinger AM, Rudd RA, Ballesteros MF, Sleet DA. Unintentional childhood injuries in the United States: key findings from the CDC childhood injury report. J Safety Res 2009 11;40(1):71-74.
  14. McKenna K & Harrison JE 2012. Hospital separations due to injury and poisoning, Australia 2008-09. Injury research and statistics series no. 65. Cat. no. INJCAT 141. Canberra: AIHW; 2012.
  15. Berk LE. Child development. Boston: Allyn & Bacon; 2000.
  16. Mowry JB, DA Spyker, DE Brooks. 2015 Annual Report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers' National Poison Data System (NPDS): 33rd Annual Report. Clin Toxicol (Phila) 2016;54(10):924-1109. https://doi.org/10.1080/15563650.2016.1245421
  17. Soori H. Developmental risk factors for unintentional childhood poisoning. Saudi Med J. 2001;22(3):227-30.
  18. Ryu WS, Choi JY, Cho JS, Lim YS, Hyun SY. Age group characteristics of children who visited the emergency department with acute poisoning by ingestion. Pediatr Emerg Med J. 2018;5(1):5-12. https://doi.org/10.22470/pemj.2018.00206

Cited by

  1. 국내 독성정보 검색을 위한 인터넷 웹사이트 분석 vol.24, pp.3, 2020, https://doi.org/10.14408/kjems.2020.24.3.117