Poisoning-related emergency department visits: The experience of a Saudi high-volume toxicology  centre

Abdullah Ahmed Abdulmomen

Poisoning-related emergency department visits: The experience of a Saudi high-volume toxicology centre

Webinar on Emergency Medicine and Current Research

September 17, 2024 | London, UK

Abdullah Ahmed Abdulmomen

Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Saudi Arabia

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Intensive and Critical Care

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Acute poisoning is a major contributing factor to mortality and morbidity. There is a lack of research on the epidemiol- ogy of acute poisoning risk factors in Saudi Arabia. OBJECTIVES: Descriptive overview of poisoning cases at a tertiary care center. DESIGN: Descriptive, medical record review. SETTINGS: Tertiary care center in Riyadh. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From the electronic medical record sys- tem, we collected demographic information, medical history, and the poisoning history on all emergency department visits diagnosed as acute poisoning from January 2016 to January 2021. Patients were classed as children (<18 years old) or adults, and further classified by body mass index. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Intensive care unit (ICU) admission, or- gan transplantation, and mortality were classified as poor outcomes. SAMPLE SIZE: 492 adults and 1013 children (<18 years old) were identified. RESULTS: The most frequent agent in poisoning for both groups was acetaminophen (n=52, 10.57% and n=100, 9.87%, respectively). The ICU admission rate was 6.7% and 4.8%, and the mortality rate 0.8% and 0.3%, respectively. The accidental poisoning rate was 57.7% among adults (n=284) and 67.6% among children (n=658). The sui- cide intention rate was 11.2% (n=55) and 7.4% (n=75) among adults and children, respectively. The management for both populations was nonspecific, involving observation, supportive measures, and symp- tomatic treatment. CONCLUSION: Although the ICU admission rates were consistent with reported data, the mortality rate was marginally lower. The pediatric predominance in the population implies a lack of caregiver education in the region regarding the safe storage of drugs and household prod- ucts, as well as the use of childresistant packaging. The high rate of accidental poisoning in both age groups should prompt further invest- ment to promote public health education on the rational use and safe storage of toxic agents and self-protection. The high suicide intention rate needs to be investigated to develop multidisciplinary risk preven- tion strategies. LIMITATIONS: Single center, retrospective, small population size. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None.