The burden of poisoning in children hospitalised at a tertiary-level hospital in South Africa
IntroductionGlobally, childhood poisoning, accounts for a significant proportion of emergency department admissions. There is a paucity of data from low- and middle-income countries on poisoning in children.ObjectiveTo describe the incidence, case fatality rate, and types of poisoning in children ad...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-10-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1279036/full |
| _version_ | 1797654354747981824 |
|---|---|
| author | Mahtaab Khan Fatima Solomon Alane Izu Pepukai Bengura Grace Okudo Basetsana Maroane Nilesh Lala Ziyaad Dangor Ziyaad Dangor |
| author_facet | Mahtaab Khan Fatima Solomon Alane Izu Pepukai Bengura Grace Okudo Basetsana Maroane Nilesh Lala Ziyaad Dangor Ziyaad Dangor |
| author_sort | Mahtaab Khan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionGlobally, childhood poisoning, accounts for a significant proportion of emergency department admissions. There is a paucity of data from low- and middle-income countries on poisoning in children.ObjectiveTo describe the incidence, case fatality rate, and types of poisoning in children admitted to a tertiary-level hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.MethodsThis was a retrospective descriptive study of children hospitalised with poisoning from January 2016 to December 2021 at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. Children were identified from a discharge summary database using ICD-10 codes that describe poisoning. Trends in incidence of poison exposure were reported.ResultsOf the 60,901 admissions during the study period, 2,652 (4.4%) children were diagnosed with poisoning. Most (71.3%) children were less than 5 years of age and 55% were male. The incidence of poisoning per 100,000 was highest at 108.4 (95% CI: 104.3–112.6) in 2019 and decreased to 77.3 (95% CI: 73.9–80.7) in 2020 and 59.6 (95% CI: 56.3–62.5) in 2021. Main causes of poisoning were organic solvents (37.6%), medications (32.9%), and pesticides (17.5%). The overall case fatality rate was 2.1%. In a multivariate analysis, poisoning secondary to pesticides (aOR: 13.9; 95% CI: 4.52–60.8; p < 0.001), and unspecified agents (aOR: 12.7; 95% CI: 3.27–62.8; p < 0.001) were associated with an increased odds of death.ConclusionWe report a high prevalence of poisoning in children hospitalised in this tertiary-level hospital in South Africa. Public health measures to reduce the burden of organic solvents, medications and pesticide poisoning are urgently warranted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:57:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5a36d38b7ec947178ebf5b1031d75504 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:57:17Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-5a36d38b7ec947178ebf5b1031d755042023-10-20T13:06:13ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-10-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.12790361279036The burden of poisoning in children hospitalised at a tertiary-level hospital in South AfricaMahtaab Khan0Fatima Solomon1Alane Izu2Pepukai Bengura3Grace Okudo4Basetsana Maroane5Nilesh Lala6Ziyaad Dangor7Ziyaad Dangor8Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaSouth African Medical Research Council: Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaSouth African Medical Research Council: Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaSouth African Medical Research Council: Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaSouth African Medical Research Council: Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Unit, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South AfricaIntroductionGlobally, childhood poisoning, accounts for a significant proportion of emergency department admissions. There is a paucity of data from low- and middle-income countries on poisoning in children.ObjectiveTo describe the incidence, case fatality rate, and types of poisoning in children admitted to a tertiary-level hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.MethodsThis was a retrospective descriptive study of children hospitalised with poisoning from January 2016 to December 2021 at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. Children were identified from a discharge summary database using ICD-10 codes that describe poisoning. Trends in incidence of poison exposure were reported.ResultsOf the 60,901 admissions during the study period, 2,652 (4.4%) children were diagnosed with poisoning. Most (71.3%) children were less than 5 years of age and 55% were male. The incidence of poisoning per 100,000 was highest at 108.4 (95% CI: 104.3–112.6) in 2019 and decreased to 77.3 (95% CI: 73.9–80.7) in 2020 and 59.6 (95% CI: 56.3–62.5) in 2021. Main causes of poisoning were organic solvents (37.6%), medications (32.9%), and pesticides (17.5%). The overall case fatality rate was 2.1%. In a multivariate analysis, poisoning secondary to pesticides (aOR: 13.9; 95% CI: 4.52–60.8; p < 0.001), and unspecified agents (aOR: 12.7; 95% CI: 3.27–62.8; p < 0.001) were associated with an increased odds of death.ConclusionWe report a high prevalence of poisoning in children hospitalised in this tertiary-level hospital in South Africa. Public health measures to reduce the burden of organic solvents, medications and pesticide poisoning are urgently warranted.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1279036/fullpaediatricpoisoningpesticidesorganic solventspublic health |
| spellingShingle | Mahtaab Khan Fatima Solomon Alane Izu Pepukai Bengura Grace Okudo Basetsana Maroane Nilesh Lala Ziyaad Dangor Ziyaad Dangor The burden of poisoning in children hospitalised at a tertiary-level hospital in South Africa Frontiers in Public Health paediatric poisoning pesticides organic solvents public health |
| title | The burden of poisoning in children hospitalised at a tertiary-level hospital in South Africa |
| title_full | The burden of poisoning in children hospitalised at a tertiary-level hospital in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | The burden of poisoning in children hospitalised at a tertiary-level hospital in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | The burden of poisoning in children hospitalised at a tertiary-level hospital in South Africa |
| title_short | The burden of poisoning in children hospitalised at a tertiary-level hospital in South Africa |
| title_sort | burden of poisoning in children hospitalised at a tertiary level hospital in south africa |
| topic | paediatric poisoning pesticides organic solvents public health |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1279036/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mahtaabkhan theburdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT fatimasolomon theburdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT alaneizu theburdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT pepukaibengura theburdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT graceokudo theburdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT basetsanamaroane theburdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT nileshlala theburdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT ziyaaddangor theburdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT ziyaaddangor theburdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT mahtaabkhan burdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT fatimasolomon burdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT alaneizu burdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT pepukaibengura burdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT graceokudo burdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT basetsanamaroane burdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT nileshlala burdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT ziyaaddangor burdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica AT ziyaaddangor burdenofpoisoninginchildrenhospitalisedatatertiarylevelhospitalinsouthafrica |