Clinical aspects of injury and acute poisoning in Korean pediatric patients

Epidemiology and regional differences of acute poisonings of eight cities in Gyeonggi-do province in Korea using data from the National Emergency Department Information System of Korea

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to analyze the differences in epidemiological aspects and clinical courses of acute poisonings in each region of the Gyeonggi-do province in Korea.

METHODS

This retrospective study analyzed data from the National Emergency Department Information System of Korea. We retrospectively reviewed cases of acute poisonings between April 2006 and March 2015 recorded at 13 emergency departments in eight different cities of Gyeonggi-do province in Korea. The differences in the incidence, age distribution, causative agent, and clinical course of poisonings among regions were the main outcomes measured.

RESULTS

The proportion of poisonings in the ≤9 age group was high in Yongin (17.44%) and that in ≥65 age group was high in Gwangmyeong (21.76%). The proportion of cases involving carbon monoxide was high in Ansan (8.82%) in patients hospitalized and the proportion of cases involving pesticides was high in Pyeongtaek (52.78%) in patients admitted to the intensive care unit. The admission rate of poisoned patients was high in Osan (36.02%).

CONCLUSION

In this study, differences in the characteristics of poisoned patients between 8 cities were noted. Therefore, hospitals need to arrange treatment resources for poisoned patients according to the characteristics of the specific region. The.

RESULTS

of this study may serve as evidence for new strategies to prepare for the acute poisonings in hospitals.

The Comparison of Accidental Poisonings Between Pharmaceuticals and Nonpharmaceuticals in Children Younger than 3 Years

INTRODUCTION

The management of pediatric poisoning is dependent on the type of toxicant ingested; however, little information has been published regarding the difference in poisoning by pharmaceuticals and nonpharmaceuticals in children. We compared the accidental poisoning of children younger than 3 years who had ingested pharmaceuticals or nonpharmaceuticals using emergency medical information center data.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the records of the poisonings of children younger than 3 years who were evaluated by the Seoul Emergency Medical Information Center in 2011. The demographic data and detailed information regarding the poisonings were investigated. The substances that caused the poisonings were divided into the following 2 groups: pharmaceuticals and nonpharmaceuticals, and their characteristics and the differences between the 2 types of poisonings were investigated.

RESULTS

A total of 1279 cases were collected, most of which involved children who were 13 to 24 months old. Boys (51.3%) were involved more than girls. Exposure to nonpharmaceuticals (60.7%) was more common than exposure to pharmaceuticals. Personal care products and respiratory agents were the most commonly implicated substances. There were several significant differences between the pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical groups. Poisoning by pharmaceuticals occurred more frequently in older children and more frequently at night. Although the exact exposure of the children in the pharmaceutical group was known and they required more treatment in the emergency department, they were not given extra immediate first aid than the children in the nonpharmaceutical group.

CONCLUSIONS

Because there were several significant differences in the characteristics of accidental pediatric poisonings between the pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical groups, preventive strategies and educational programs should be implemented on the basis of the causative agent.

Acute pesticide poisoning among children in South Korea: findings from National Health Insurance claims data, 2006-2009

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of acute pesticide poisoning among children in South Korea and describe the related epidemiologic characteristics.

METHODS

We evaluated the age-standardized rates of incidence of pesticide poisoning among children in South Korea from 2006 through 2009 using National Health Insurance claims data.

RESULTS

A total of 1232 children aged 0-14 years were identified from the acute pesticide poisoning cases reported across South Korea during the study period. The annual average age-standardized rate of incidence from acute pesticide poisoning was 3.6 per 100 000. The majority of the cases were identified in the categories of the 1-4-year-old age-group (56.5%), outpatients (80.0%), single-day visit to a hospital (70.4%) and summer occurrence (43.3%).

CONCLUSIONS

Acute pesticide poisoning is prevalent among children in South Korea; therefore, intervention efforts are needed to reduce the cases of pesticide poisoning among children.