Analysis of the Pattern of Poisoning in Patients Admitted to a Large Teaching Hospital in Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Poisoning is one of the most common causes of hospital admission. This study aims at 1- to determine the characteristics of poisoning, 2-to discover the relationship of the patients’ characteristics, and 3- to suggest a pattern of characteristics of poisoning. Methods: The current cross-sectional study was conducted at Edalatian Emergency Center in 2016. Characteristics of patients with poisoning were extracted from the hospital information system (HIS) in a large teaching hospital. Gender, type of admission, the priority of admission, type of referral, cause of referral, insurance organization, age, and month of referral were the variables extracted. Data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistical methods in SPSS software version 21.  Results: Of the 15204 patients included in this analysis, 55.2% of the patients were men. Also, 68.5% had nonurgent triage level, and the cause of the 60.7% of the poisoning was medication overdose. Most of the patients (86.2%) aged from 20 to 30 years with the most frequent referral in May, June, July, and August. According to logistic regression results, opium, toxin, alcohol and medication poisoning had the highest odds of being at urgent triage level (OR= 1.609, 1.559, 1.358, 1.218 respectively) and the food poisoning was the lowest cause of poisoning ( OR=0.018). Triage level was found to be significantly different in months of the year (P<0.001). But, a routine trend was not observed. Conclusion: The use of preventive measures from the occurrence of poisoning is necessary for the country because this problem occurs due to the lack of awareness about its causative factors. Regarding the more prevalence of intentional poisoning, the necessary steps are needed to be taken to identify the Psychological causes and prevent suicide in at-risk groups.