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.