TAIWAN NATIONAL POISON CENTER - EPIDEMIOLOGIC DATA 1985-1993

Citation
Cc. Yang et al., TAIWAN NATIONAL POISON CENTER - EPIDEMIOLOGIC DATA 1985-1993, Journal of toxicology. Clinical toxicology, 34(6), 1996, pp. 651-663
Citations number
24
Language
INGLESE
art.tipo
Article
Categorie Soggetti
Toxicology
ISSN journal
0731-3810
Volume
34
Issue
6
Year of publication
1996
Pages
651 - 663
Database
ISI
SICI code
0731-3810(1996)34:6<651:TNPC-E>2.0.ZU;2-I
Abstract
The Taiwan National Poison Center has received more than 30,000 teleph one calls since its establishment in July 1985. Objective: To obtain m ore information about poisoning exposures in Taiwan, a retrospective a nalysis was conducted of all telephone calls to the center concerning human poisoning exposures July 1985 through December 1993. Methods: Th e following data were tabulated: age, sex, intent of exposure, route o f exposure, substances ingested and clinical severity. Results: During the eight years (1985-1993), 23,436 telephone calls concerning human poisoning exposure were recorded. Adults accounted for most cases (75. 2%) and exposures involving males (54.2%) were somawhat more prevalent than female poisoning exposures (44.7%). Intentional poisonings (54.6 %) were more common than unintentional poisonings (40.1%), with an inv erse relationship in pediatric poisoning exposures. After amphetamines , the most frequently ingested poisons were pesticides, benzodiazepine s, and cleaning products. Fatalities occurred most frequency following ingestion of pesticides. The mortality rate was 5.7% for all exposure s. Conclusions: Human poisoning is a serious problem in Taiwan. The re duction of suicide attempts is a major objective. Childhood poisonings are underreported and of high mortality.