Original Article
EURASIAN JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE EURASIAN JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY MEDICINE
65
©
Copyright 2021 by the Emergency Medicine Physicians’ Association of Turkey
Eurasian Journal of Emergency Medicine published by Galenos Publishing House.
Eurasian J Emerg Med. 2021;20(2): 65-70
Received: 25.04.2020
Accepted: 01.07.2020
Cite this article as: Hancı İH, Gürbüz N. Evaluation of “Drug Poisonings, Emergency Service” Studies Published in Pubmed
01.01.2019-01.01.2020. Eurasian J Emerg Med. 2021;20(2):65-70.
Corresponding Author: Prof. Dr. İ. Hamit Hancı, Ph.D., Deparment of Forensic Medicine, Ankara University
Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
E-mail: hancihamit@gmail.com ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3504-3751
Introduction
Poisoning is an important public health problem that causes a
major portion of emergency department (ED) admissions and
may cause serious consequences to health (1,2). The demographic
characteristics of poisoning cases differ in terms of regions and
socioeconomic factors (3).
Poisoning events are generally; the use of prescription or non-
prescription medication initiated by the patient occurs due
to iatrogenic administration of high doses of drugs, accidental
exposure to chemicals, or deliberate intake of biological agents
for suicide (4). Medicinal drugs are the most encountered (47-86%)
agents in poisonings.
Among medicinal drugs, paracetamol, nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory and antidepressants are mostly seen (5-7).
Preventable adverse drug events (ADEs) are a common cause of ED
visits, hospitalizations and death (8,9). ADEs cause or contribute
to one in nine ED visits, and of deaths attributed to medical care,
medications are the most common cause (10-13).
Our aim in this study is to evaluate the “drug poisonings and
emergency service” studies published in Pubmed between
01.01.2019 and 01.01.2020.
Materials and Methods
The literature review was carried out using the terms “drug
poisoning” and “emergency medicine” in PubMed (http://
Abstract
Aim: This study aimed to evaluate studies on drug poisoning and emergency servics published in PubMed between January 2019 and January
2020.
Materials and Methods: The literature review was carried out using the terms “drug poisoning and emergency medicine” in PubMed (http://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez) January 2019 and January 2020. All summaries defined in the searches were reviewed, and suitable
studies were selected.
Results: Eighty-five studies were identified in PubMed between January 2019 and January 2020. 28.24% (24) of these studies are retrospective,
prospective, and cohort studies and meta-analyses. 56.47% (48) were original studies, of which 20.83% (20) were on narcotic poisoning (opioid,
synthetic cannabinoids, cannabis, and heroin), 8.33% (4) were on overdose paracetamol poisoning, 8.33% (4) were on allergic reactions due to
drug use, 6.25% (3) were on acute alcohol poisoning, and 56.25% were other original studies. Studies on treating intoxication complications
were 15.29%.
Conclusion: According to this annual evaluation, the most common studies on applications in emergency departments and poison centers
were original articles on drug poisoning, 56.47%. Retrospective, prospective, and cohort studies and meta-analyses were 28.24%, and studies
on the treatment of complications resulting from drug poisoning were 15.29%.
Keywords: Drug poisonings, emergency service, clinical toxicology
İ. Hamit Hancı
1
, Neslihan Gürbüz
2
1
Deparment of Forensic Medicine, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
2
Departmet of Emergency Service, Gazi University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
Anual Evaluation of “Drug Poisonings, Emergency Service” Studies
Published in Pubmed 01.01.2019-01.01.2020
DOI: 10.4274/eajem.galenos.2020.81567