This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Tüfekçi, I. B. Articles by Sirin, F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tüfekçi, I. B. Articles by Sirin, F. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Characteristics of acute adult poisoning cases admitted to a university hospital in Istanbul

Iil Bavunolu Tüfekçi

University of Istanbul, Cerrahpaa Medical Faculty, Department of Internal Medicine

A. Çurgunlu

University of Istanbul, Cerrahpaa Medical Faculty, Department of Internal Medicine

Feridun irin

University of Istanbul, Cerrahpaa Medical Faculty, Emergency Department

Background: The aim of this retrospective study was to analyse the characteristics of acute adult poisoning cases admitted to a university hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. Patients and methods: All cases admitted to the Emergency Unit of the Istanbul University Cerrahpaa Medical Faculty Hospital, between January 2001 and December 2001, were included in this study. We analysed the clinical charts for aetiological and demographical characteristics of the acutely poisoned patients. Results: There were 284 poisoning cases (207 females and 77 males) among 11 834 patients admitted to the Emergency Unit. This was 2.4% of all emergency admissions. The female-to-male ratio was 3:1. The mean age was 27±12 years (age range 15–87) and the majority of the patients (73.94%) were below the age of 30 years. The median age was 24 years. Medicinal drugs were the major cause (69.37%) of the cases, followed by inhalation of gases (14.44%), alcohol (5.99%), alcohol together with illicit drugs (4.23%), food (3.17%), corrosives (1.76%) and pesticides (1.06%). The route of administration was as follows: 84.51% orally, 14.44% by inhalation and 1.06% by intravenous injection. Seventy-one per cent of acute poisonings were self-inflicted and 88% occurred at home. The most frequently involved medicinal drugs were antidepressants and analgesics. In 32.04% of cases, there was more than one medicinal drug responsible for the poisoning. The seasonal distribution in poisoning patients suggested a peak in summer (31.7% of presentations) and winter (30.9%) and lower numbers in spring (22.9%) and autumn (14.5%). The follow-up period of the patients were 1–12 hours for 42 cases (15%), 13–24 hours for 134 cases (47%) and more than 24 hours for 108 cases (38%). Two of the 284 cases with acute poisonings were fatal. This was a university hospital-based study, so these results may not be representative of the general population. Despite this drawback, these data still provide important information about the characteristics of poisoning in the largest city of the country.

Key Words: adult • emergency • poisoning • Turkey

Human & Experimental Toxicology, Vol. 23, No. 7, 347-351 (2004)
DOI: 10.1191/0960327104ht460oa


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M Islambulchilar, Z Islambulchilar, and M. Kargar-Maher Acute adult poisoning cases admitted to a university hospital in Tabriz, Iran Human and Experimental Toxicology, April 1, 2009; 28(4): 185 - 190. [Abstract] [PDF]

				H-L Lee, H-J Lin, S.-Y Yeh, C-H Chi, and H-R Guo Etiology and outcome of patients presenting for poisoning to the emergency department in Taiwan: a prospective study Human and Experimental Toxicology, May 1, 2008; 27(5): 373 - 379. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. Shadnia, H. Esmaily, G. Sasanian, A. Pajoumand, H. Hassanian-Moghaddam, and M. Abdollahi Pattern of acute poisoning in Tehran-Iran in 2003 Human and Experimental Toxicology, September 1, 2007; 26(9): 753 - 756. [Abstract] [PDF]

				N. Hocaoglu, S. Kalkan, A. Akgun, S. Capar, and Y. Tuncok A retrospective evaluation of analgesic exposures from Izmir, Turkey Human and Experimental Toxicology, August 1, 2007; 26(8): 629 - 636. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. Akbaba, E. Nazlican, H. Demirhindi, Z. Sutoluk, and Y. Gokel Etiological and demographical characteristics of acute adult poisoning in Adana, Turkey Human and Experimental Toxicology, May 1, 2007; 26(5): 401 - 406. [Abstract] [PDF]