scholarly journals Frequency and Management of Acute Poisoning Among Children Attending an Emergency Department in Saudi Arabia

Pharmacy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Mansour Tobaiqy ◽  
Bandar A. Asiri ◽  
Ahmed H. Sholan ◽  
Yahya A. Alzahrani ◽  
Ayed A. Alkatheeri ◽  
...  

Background: Acute poisoning is one of the common medical emergencies in children that leads to morbidity and mortality. Medications and chemical agents play a major role in these adverse events resulting in social, economic, and health consequences. Aims of the study: This study aimed to evaluate the frequency and management of acute poisoning among children attending the emergency room at East Jeddah Hospital, Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review of all acute pediatric poisoning incidences in children (0–16 years of age) from October-21-2016 to March-03-2020 who were attending the emergency department. Data were analyzed via SPSS software. Results: A total of 69 incidences of acute poisoning in children who attended the emergency department at East Jeddah Hospital; males (n = 38, 55.1%). Most children were aged 5 years or younger (n = 41, 59.4%). Unintentional poisoning occurred among 56.5% of observed cases of which 52.2% occurred in children younger than 5 years; 7.20% (n = 5) of patients were 12 to 16 years of age and had deliberate self-poisoning. The association between type of poisoning and age groups was statistically significant (chi-square = 28.5057, p = 0.0001). Most incidences occurred at home (n = 64, 92.8%). Medicines were the most common cause of poisoning (n = 53, 76.8%). An excessive dose of prescribed medicine poisoning accidents was reported in 10.1% cases. Analgesics such as paracetamol were the most documented medication associated with poisoning (39.1%) followed by anticonvulsants and other central nervous system acting medicines (18.8%). The most common route of poisoning was oral ingestion (81.2%). One mortality case was documented. Conclusion: Although not common, accidental and deliberate acute poisoning in children does occur. More can be done to educate parents on safe storage of medicines, household cleaning and other products associated with acute poisoning in children. Likewise, children can be taught more about the risks of poisoning from an early age. As importantly, clinicians need to include more detailed notes in the electronic medical records (EMR) or the system needs to be improved to encourage completeness to more accurately inform the research evidence-base for future service design, health policy and strategy.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansour Tobaiqy ◽  
Bandar A Asiri ◽  
Ahmed H Sholan ◽  
Yahya A Alzahrani ◽  
Ayed A Alkatheeri ◽  
...  

Background: Unintentional poisoning is one of the common medical emergencies in children that leads to morbidity and mortality. Medications and chemical agents play a major role in these adverse events resulting in social, economic, and health consequences. Aims of the study: The study aimed to evaluate the frequency and management of poisoning among children attending the emergency room at East Jeddah Hospital, Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review of all acute pediatric poisoning incidences in children (0-16 years of age) from October-21-2016 to March-03-2020 who were admitted to the emergency department of East Jeddah Hospital, Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia. Data was analyzed via SPSS software. Results: A total of 69 incidences of acute poisoning were admitted to the emergency room at East Jeddah Hospital; males were 55.1 %. Most children were under 5 years of age (59.4%). Unintentional poisoning occurred among 56.5% of observed cases of which 52.2% occurred in children younger than 5 years; 7.20% (5) patients were 12 to 16 years of age and had deliberate self-poisoning. The association between type of poisoning and age groups was statistically significant (Chi-square=28.5057, p=0.0001). Most incidences occurred at home (92.8%). Medicines were the most common cause of poisoning (73.9%). An excessive dose of prescribed medicine poisoning accidents was reported in 10.1% cases. Analgesics such as paracetamol were the most documented medication associated with poisoning (39.1%) followed by anticonvulsants and other central nervous system acting medicines (18.8 %). The most common route of poisoning was oral administration (81.2%). One mortality case was documented due to poisoning. Conclusion: A total of 69 incidences of acute poisoning in children occurred in a single hospital over 3 years. Most incidents were Unintentional and occurred in children younger than 5 years of age. Medicines were the most common cause of poisoning. Analgesics such as paracetamol were the most common documented medicine associated with poisoning.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ceri Elisabeth Battle ◽  
Vanessa Evans ◽  
Karen James ◽  
Katherine Guy ◽  
Janet Whitley ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Variation in the incidence and mechanism of thermal injury has been reported in different age groups in children. The aim of this study was to report the incidence, mechanisms, and environmental factors of all burns presentations to the emergency department (ED) of a regional burns centre over a 7-year period. Methods A retrospective, chart review study of all burns presentations to the ED of a regional burns centre in South Wales was conducted. All children recorded as having sustained a burn or scald, aged less than 16 years were included in the analysis. Subjects’ demographics were analysed using descriptive statistics, and comparisons were made between patients aged less than 5 and patients aged 5–16 using chi-square test and Mann–Whitney U test. Results A total of 1387 cases were included in the final analysis. Scalds were the most common thermal injury with 569 (41.0 %) reported, followed by contact burns in 563 (40.6 %) patients. The patients requiring hospitalisation were significantly younger (2 vs 3 years; p < 0.001) and had a higher rate of non-accidental injury (10 vs 4; p < 0.001). The most commonly injured site in both age groups was a hand or digit. Conclusions Scalds and contact burns were the most commonly reported thermal injury in children aged less than 16. Common mechanisms were hot beverages, hobs and hair straighteners, highlighting further burn prevention strategies are needed and good-quality prospective studies that investigate the effectiveness of such strategies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Samad Shams-Vahdati ◽  
Alireza Ala ◽  
Eliar Sadeghi-Hokmabad ◽  
Neda Parnianfard ◽  
Maedeh Gheybi ◽  
...  

Background: Missing to detect an ischemic stroke in the emergency department leads to miss acute interventions and treatment with secondary prevention therapy. Our study examined the diagnosis of stroke in the emergency department (ED) and neurology department of an academic teaching hospital. Methods and Materials: A retrospective chart review was performed from March 2017 to March 2018. ED medical document (chart) were reviewed by a stroke neurologist to collect the clinical diagnosis and characteristics of ischemic stroke patients. For determining the cases of misdiagnosed and over diagnosed data, the administrative data codes were compared with the chart adjudicated diagnosis. The adjusted estimate of effect was estimated through testing the significant variables in a multivariable model. The comparisons were done with chi square test. Statistical significance was considered at P < 0.05. Results: Of 861 patients of the study, 54% were males and 43% were females; and the mean age of them was 66.51 ± 15.70. We find no statically significant difference between patient’s Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) in the emergency department (12.87±3.25) and patients GCS in the neurology department (11.77±5.15). There were 18 (2.2%) overdiagnosed of ischemic stroke, 8 (0.9%) misdiagnosed of ischemic stroke and 36 (4.1%) misdiagnosed of hemorrhagic strokes in the emergency department. Conclusion: There was no significant difference between impression of stroke in the emergency department and diagnosis at the neurology department.


2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung Lee ◽  
Nai-Chia Fan ◽  
Tsung-Chieh Yao ◽  
Shao-Hsuan Hsia ◽  
En-Pei Lee ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S38-S39
Author(s):  
Kathleen S Romanowski ◽  
Melissa J Grigsby ◽  
Soman Sen ◽  
Tina L Palmieri ◽  
David G Greenhalgh

Abstract Introduction Recent evidence indicates that increased frailty is associated with increased mortality in patients with burn injuries over the age of 50 years old. This work found that 35.7% of burn patients over 65 years old were frail at the time of their burn admission while 19.2% of burn patients 50 to 64 years old were frail. While frailty is associated with increased age the two are separate entities suggesting that frailty may be present in much younger patients who present with burn injuries. We hypothesize that frailty exists in all age groups of patients presenting with burn injury and the prevalence increases with age. Methods Following IRB approval, a 5-year (2014–2019) retrospective chart review was conducted of all burn patients admitted to the burn center. Data collected includes age, gender, and burn size (% TBSA). Frailty was determined using the Modified Frailty Index 11 (MFI 11) from co-morbidities included in the burn registry. Patients were considered frail if they have an MFI ³ 2 and pre-frail for an MFI³1 and &lt; 2. Patients were assessed by decades for age. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square, and t-tests. Results A total of 2173 patients (mean age 46.1±17.3 years, 1584 males (72.8%), mean % TBSA 12.5±16.3%) were analyzed. All age groups included patients who were pre-frail (Table 1). In the under 20-year-old group, 8.5% were pre-frail. This increases with each age group to the 71-80-year-old group in which 41.7% of patients are pre-frail. The over 80-year-old group had slightly fewer pre-frail patients (35.9%). There were no frail patients in the under 20-year-old group. In the 21–30 there were 3 patients (0.7%) that had an MFI of 2 or more placing them in the frail group. Frailty was significantly different across the age groups (p&lt; 0.001). As patients age, the proportion of female patients increases (from 17.6% to 37.5%. p&lt; 0.0001). Frailty was also associated with gender with women having a higher percentage of frailty (p=0.0006). With respect to burn size, age category was not associated with burn size (p=0.12), but frail patients had smaller burns than non-frail or pre-frail patients (9.5% vs. 13.3% vs. 12.2%, p=0.0002). Conclusions Pre-frail patients were identified in all age groups. Frailty was present in all age groups except for those who are under 20 years of age. Frailty was associated with female sex and smaller burns. By not specifically looking for frailty in all burn patients admitted to the hospital we are potentially missing frail patients who may benefit from interventions to improve their outcomes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 3570-3576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nouf S. Al-Hammad ◽  
Mohammed Al-Dhubaiban ◽  
Latifa Alhowaish ◽  
Lanre L. Bello

Objective: To evaluate molar-incisor-hypomineralization (MIH) prevalence, clinical characteristics, and severity amongst school children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Subjects and Methods: Randomly selected, healthy third- and fourth-grade students (aged 8–10 years) attending elementary schools in Riyadh, and children of the same age attending dental clinics at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University, were examined for the presence of MIH, its clinical characteristics, and severity. Results: The sample studied consisted of 924 children, 447 (48.4%) of whom were boys. There were 376 children, (199 females and 177 males), with at least 2 index teeth affected (prevalence = 40.7%). A total of 133 (35.4%) had only molar hypomineralization (MH), whereas 243 (64.6%) had molars and incisors involved (MIH). The mean number of affected teeth per child was 6.6 ±3.6 (3.3 for molars and 3.2 for incisors). The chi-Square test showed no association between the distribution of hypomineralization and age (P = 0.115). Children with severe hypomineralization predominated across all age groups, with the 10-year-old group having more severely affected children (71.9%)  compared to 8- and 9-year-old groups (P = 0.000).  Proportional t-test showed no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) between males and females in the occurrence of MH or MIH, and in the severity of the hypomineralization. Upper molars were more affected than lower molars, whilst upper incisors were more affected than lower incisors. Conclusion: Enamel hypomineralization is a common feature in the dentition of 8–10-year-old children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. There is no association with age and no gender predilection.  


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kairi Kõlves ◽  
David Crompton ◽  
Kathryn Turner ◽  
Nicolas JC Stapelberg ◽  
Ashar Khan ◽  
...  

Objective The aim of the current paper is to analyse time trends of non-fatal suicidal behaviour (NFSB) and its repetition at the Gold Coast in 2005–2015. Methods Data on presentations for NFSB were obtained from the Emergency Department (ED) Information System. Potential cases were identified through keyword searches, which were further scrutinised and coded. Annual person-based age-standardised rates for NFSB were calculated. Chi-square test, Poisson regression and Cox proportional hazards regression were used. Results: There was a significant increase in the age-standardised rates of NFSB for males (incidence Rate Ratio = 1.05; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04–1.07) and females (iRR = 1.06; 95% CI: 1.04–1.07). Age-specific rates showed significant increases for all age groups, except 25–34 and 55+ for females. Different types of poisoning were the predominant method of NFSB (poisoning only – 61.7% of episodes), followed by cutting (23%). Within the first year after the index episode, 13.4% of subjects repeated NFSB. Multivariate Cox regression model showed that sex, age and method predicted repetition. Conclusion: The increasing trends of NFSB and relatively high repetition rates emphasise the need for preventative actions. Monitoring of NFSB at the ED level should be further extended in Australia.


Author(s):  
Batievskaya V.B. ◽  
Chaes B.B.

The article is devoted to the study of the structure of acute poisoning among various gender and age groups of the population of the Kemerovo region in dynamics over nine years based on the analysis of primary information - registration form N 58-1/y "Emergency notification of acute poisoning of chemical etiology" for the period from 2010 to 2019. The analysis showed that the main causes of acute poisoning in children under 14 years of age are food and drug poisoning. Problems of acute alcohol and drug poisoning in school-age children are associated with suicidal intentions and social maladaptation in society. In victims of early childhood and preschool age, access to toxic substances is determined by parental negligence in the storage of drugs or non-compliance with the dosage regimen of medicines.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Baraniecki ◽  
Puru Panchal ◽  
Danya Deepsee Malhotra ◽  
Alexandra Aliferis ◽  
Zaka Zia

Abstract Background On October 17, 2018, the Cannabis Act decriminalized the recreational use of cannabis in Canada. This study seeks to determine how legalization of cannabis has impacted emergency department (ED) visits for acute cannabis intoxication. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review at an academic ED in Hamilton, Ontario. We assessed all visits with a cannabis-related ICD-10 discharge code 6 months before and after legalization (October 17, 2018) to determine cases of acute cannabis intoxication. The primary outcome was the rate of ED visits. Secondary outcomes included number of visits distributed by age, length of stay, co-ingestions, and clinical course in the emergency department (investigations and treatment). Results There was no difference in the overall rate of ED visits following legalization (2.44 vs. 2.94 visits/1000, p = 0.27). However, we noted a 56% increase in visits among adults aged 18–29 (p = 0.03). Following legalization, a larger portion of patients required observation without interventions (25% vs 48%, p < 0.05). Bloodwork and imaging studies decreased (53% vs. 12%, p < 0.05; 29% vs. 2%, p < 0.05); however, treatment with benzodiazepines increased (24% vs. 51%, p < 0.05). Conclusions Legalization was not associated with a change in the rate of cannabis-related ED visits in our study. More research is needed regarding changing methods of cannabis ingestion and trends among specific age groups.


Author(s):  
Georgios Feretzakis ◽  
Georgios Karlis ◽  
Konstantinos Tsekouras ◽  
Stamatios Orfanos ◽  
Evangelos Loupelis ◽  
...  

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visits in emergency departments (ED) worldwide decreased significantly based on several studies. This study aims to compare the patient flow in the emergency surgery department during the COVID-19 pandemic and a control period in the emergency department of a public tertiary care hospital in Greece. The overall patient flow reduction regarding the ED visits between the two examined periods was 49.07%. The emergency surgery department’s corresponding visits were 235 and 552, respectively, which indicated an overall patient flow decrease of 57.43%. Chi-square analysis showed that age groups and ambulance use had statistically significant associations with the periods examined. An independent samples t-test was applied and deduced that the average patient’s age was statistically significantly higher in the COVID-19 pandemic than in the non-pandemic period. By analyzing hospital information system data, useful conclusions can be drawn to prepare a surgical emergency unit better and optimize resource allocation in a healthcare facility in similar critical situations.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document