The epidemiology of childhood poisonings in Cyprus
- 17 December 2009
- journal article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in European Journal of Pediatrics
- Vol. 169 (7), 833-838
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-009-1124-8
Abstract
Information on childhood poisonings in Cyprus is limited. Our objective was to examine the epidemiology of poisonings among children in Cyprus. All children up to 15 years of age admitted for poisoning to the Archbishop Makarios Hospital in Nicosia, Cyprus between 2005 and 2008 were included in our study. All hospital poisoning records were reviewed. A total of 257 children were admitted for poisoning. The mean age of children was 3.1 years, of which 83.7% were below the age of 5 years old, while 53% were boys. The poisoning hospitalizations accounted for about 3% of all admissions to the pediatric department during the study period (4 years). The annual cumulative incidence of childhood poisoning hospitalizations was 116 per 100,000 children. Medications accounted for 46.1% of all poisonings, the most frequent cause being paracetamol (9.8%), cardiovascular medications (5.3%), antitussive medications (4.5%), and other painkillers (4.1%). Another 37.6% of hospitalizations involved household products such as household cleaning products (11.8%), petroleum products (11.0%), and rodenticides (5.7%). Among children who ingested petroleum distillates, 55.6% developed clinical symptomatology. The vast majority of cases were accidental (93.8%). Suicidal cases involved children 8–14 years old, mainly girls, and the most frequent poisoning ingested was paracetamol (46.7%). Poisoning hospitalizations represent an important cause of morbidity among children in Cyprus. Preventive strategies should include the education of caregivers on the handling of medications and household products as well as legislation requiring child-resistant packaging for all medications and household products including petroleum distillates.Keywords
This publication has 27 references indexed in Scilit:
- Unintentional Child Poisonings Treated in United States Hospital Emergency Departments: National Estimates of Incident Cases, Population-Based Poisoning Rates, and Product InvolvementPEDIATRICS, 2008
- Clinical findings and cholinesterase levels in children of organophosphates and carbamates poisoningEuropean Journal of Pediatrics, 2008
- Deliberate self‐harm by under‐15‐year‐olds: characteristics, trends and outcomeJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2008
- Impact of Restricting Paracetamol Pack Sizes on Paracetamol Poisoning in the United KingdomDrug Safety, 2007
- Acute liver failure in children: The first 348 patients in the pediatric acute liver failure study groupThe Journal of Pediatrics, 2006
- Changes in paracetamol, antidepressants and opioid poisoning in Scotland during the 1990sQJM: An International Journal of Medicine, 2003
- Common Culprits in Childhood PoisoningPediatric Drugs, 1999
- Some epidemiological observations on medicinal and non-medicinal poisoning in preschool children.Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 1992
- Accidental Poisoning in Childhood: A Multicentre Survey. 1. General EpidemiologyHuman Toxicology, 1987
- Epidemiology of accidental home poisoning in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 1983