Pattern of Paediatric Poisoning - A 3 Year Retrospective Study in Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Karad, Maharashtra

Poisoning is a major problem in the paediatric population. The offending substances used vary from place to place. The present study was undertaken to determine poisoning in children with respect to age, sex, habitat, seasonal distribution, type of poison, outcome and manner of poisoning. This is a retrospective analysis of 3 years from Jan 2010 to Dec 2012 of all childhood poisoning cases admitted in Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Karad in the age group of 0 to 14 years. A total of 152 cases were studied with male to female ratio of 2.3:1. Most common age group involved was 10–14 yrs with the incidence being more common in rural areas (86.1%). Most common poisoning was animal bite (63.8%) followed by kerosene (7.8%) pesticide (6.5%), drug (3.2%) and other substance (18.7%) ingestion. Rainy season was found to be the most vulnerable period for poisoning. All cases were accidental except one which was homicidal in nature. There was a mortality rate of 0.65% whereas 4 cases were discharged against medical advice. As most of the cases were accidental in nature, so access prevention and health education campaign should be instituted to reduce the incidence of accidental poisoning in children.