Poisoning among Patients Presenting to the Department of Emergency Medicine of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

Authors

  • Kabir Thakali Department of General Practitioners and Emergency Medicine, Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences, Sanobharyang, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Nistha Ulak Ramghat Primary Health Center, Gaushala, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Manjil Bharati Himal Hospital, Gyaneshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Lok Jung Thapa Himal Hospital, Gyaneshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Dipendra Nepali Paudyal Meditech Hospital, Siddartha Rajmarg, Butwal, Nepal
  • Chandra Kiran Basnet P.T. Birta City Hospital And Research Centre, Birtamod, Jhapa, Nepal
  • Dinesh Kumar Lamsal Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, Civil Service Hospital of Nepal, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Ramesh Pant Department of Family and Emergency Medicine, Civil Service Hospital of Nepal, New Baneshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.7878

Keywords:

emergency department; poisoning; prevalence.

Abstract

Introduction: Poisoning is one of the major public health problems worldwide. The World Health Organization has estimated 0.3 million deaths a year due to various poisoning agents; pesticides being the leading one. Poisoning is one of the leading causes of emergency room visits. It has become a significant public health issue in Nepal. This study aimed to find out the prevalence of poisoning among patients presenting to the Department of Emergency Medicine of a tertiary care centre.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in the Department of Emergency Medicine of a tertiary care centre from 24 June 2022 to 6 July 2022. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Committee (Reference number: 11/2022). Data from 765 patients were collected from the hospital records. The patient's history and clinical examination were used to make the diagnosis of poisoning. Convenience sampling method was used. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated.

Results: Among 765 patients visiting the emergency department, 8 (1.04%) (0.99-1.09, 95% Confidence Interval) patients were of poisoning. The most common poison used was organophosphates which was consumed by 2 (25%) patients and benzodiazepines by 2 (25%) patients.

Conclusions: The prevalence of poisoning among patients presenting to the Department of Emergency Medicine was similar when compared to other studies conducted in similar settings. Although agricultural poisons were commonly used, cases of drug poisoning seems to be on the rise nowadays.

Downloads

Published

2022-10-01

How to Cite

Thakali, K. ., Ulak, N., Bharati, M., Thapa, L. J., Paudyal, . D. N., Basnet, C. K., Lamsal, . D. K., & Pant, R. . (2022). Poisoning among Patients Presenting to the Department of Emergency Medicine of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study. Journal of Nepal Medical Association, 60(254), 861–864. https://doi.org/10.31729/jnma.7878

Issue

Vol. 60 No. 254 (2022): JNMA: Published Monthly

Section

Original Article

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Kabir Thakali

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

JNMA allow to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of its articles and allow readers to use them for any other lawful purpose. The author(s) are allowed to retain publishing rights without restrictions. The JNMA work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. More about Copyright Policy.

Most read articles by the same author(s)