Pattern of pediatric poisoning at a tertiary health care hospital in south india: A perspective of clinical forensic medicine unit

Introducion: Poisoning is the cause of substantial morbidity and mortality globally. Acute poisoning in children is an important pediatric emergency. It accounts for 0.33% to 7.6% of total admissions in pediatric wards at different hospitals across India. Most of the cases of poisoning in children are accidental and they are preventable. The profile and consequence of poisoned patients differ from place to place. So, the aim of this study was to study the profile and outcome of poisoning in Pediatric age group in tertiary care hospital in south India. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the last 1 year (August 2016-August 2017) cases of pediatric poisoning. We looked into the profile of all cases and noted their outcome. Later all the results were calculated using regular statistics methods. Results: Most common age group involved was 1-5 year (38.82%). Most poisoning cases were seen in boys (56.47%). Poisoning was seen most commonly in rural children (70.58%) and mostly at home (49.41%). In 22.35% of cases 2-4 hours was the time interval between exposure and admission to Hospital. Most common poisoning seen was by snake bite in 27.05% of cases. Conclusion: From our study it was clear that the leading causes of poisoning was snake bite and children under the age of <5 years are most vulnerable. Following measures may help in reduction of Pediatric poisoning: educating the parents, storage of poisonous substances at a safe place and their proper disposal, providing basic health education to children.