ORIGINAL ARTICLE JIACM 2011; 13(1): 37-42 ** Assistant Professor, *** Associate Professor, Department of Medicine,* Assistant Professor, **** Professor and Head, Department of Paediatrics, Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Jolly Grant, Doiwala, Dehradun - 248 140, Uttarakhand. Profile of poisoning in children and adolescents at a North Indian tertiary care centre Nowneet Kumar Bhat*, Minakshi Dhar**, Sohaib Ahmad***, Vipan Chandar**** Abstract Objectives: Poisoning in children and adolescents – a common worldwide problem – is a preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. It has not been extensively studied in India. The aim of this study was to determe the profile and outcome of children presenting with acute poisoning at a North Indian tertiary care centre. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the hospital records of all children and adolescents aged less than 18 years with definite history of poisoning during the 3-years period from December 2008 to November 2011. We profiled all cases and noted their outcome. Results: 117 patients presented with acute poisoning during the study period. Median age of our patients was 4 years (range 0.75 - 17.75). The majority of our patients (60.68%) were in the 1 - 6 year age group. Male to female ratio was 1.4:1. The majority of our patients resided in rural areas. Insecticides (37.61%), drugs (25.64%), and Kerosene oil (18.8%) were the agents most frequently implicated. Almost all (97.2%) cases in 1 - 6 year age group were accidental in nature, whereas in the 12 - 18 year group, the majority (80.9%) were suicidal. Thirty-six patients (30.7%) remained asymptomatic, the rest developed symptoms related to toxic ingestion and required symptomatic or definitive treatment. Thirteen patients required ICU care and 7 required intubation and mechanical ventilation. Gastric lavage was done in 34% patients and specific antidote was given to 28 (23.9%) patients. Four patients (3 adolescents and 1 preschool child) died. Conclusion: The profile of paediatric poisoning noted at our centre was not very different from that observed in other hospital- based studies. Most of our patients were symptomatic and required hospitalisation because of the inherent toxicity of the substances implicated. This is in sharp contrast to developed countries, where common non-toxic household products are commonly implicated. Patient management is improved by consultation with national poison information centre. Key words: Poisoning, accidental, suicidal, profile, children and adolescents. Introduction Poisoning in children is an important paediatric emergency and is a worldwide problem. It is a common and preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in children. Profile and outcome of poisoned paediatric patients varies in different parts of the world and in a given region is influenced by the prevalent social, occupational, economic, and cultural practices, and also by the availability and the quality of the medical facilities. Thus, epidemiological surveillance specific for each country and region is necessary to determine the extent and characteristics of the problem, according to which related preventive measures can be taken. Studies from the developed countries show that common nontoxic household products are now implicated in the majority of paediatric poisonings and most of their paediatric patients are discharged after a brief period of observation in the emergency room 1,2,3 . Decrease in cases of paediatric poisoning related to toxic drugs and chemicals in these countries is due to introduction of child proof packs and bottles 4 , measures which are yet to be implemented in many of the developing countries. There are a few studies from India that describe the profile of poisoned paediatric patients from various regions, most of them are now a decade old and none from this part of India 5,6,7 . With increasing urbanisation and rapid socio- economic development in India during the last two decades, some change in paediatric poisoning profile and outcome is to be expected. We carried-out this study in the department of paediatrics of a tertiary care centre located in the rural outskirts of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, with the aim of determining the profile and outcome (discharge after observation, admission and treatment or death) of children presenting with acute poisoning.