Childhood poisoning in Dublin

Abstract

A prospective survey was carried out over a three month period to assess the incidence of accidental poisoning in children. The survey also examined the role of child resistant closures (CRC) and other form of packaging in the prevention of poisoning. Two hundred and six children with suspected poisoning attended the casualty departments of the three Dublin children's hospitals surveyed. Ninety three percent of the children were less than five years old. Medications were thought to have been ingested by 65%, household or gardening products by 34% and plants by 1%. Most children had no symptoms and received no treatment except emesis or oral fluid and demulcents. Twenty five percent required admission to hospital. There were no fatalities during the study period. Only 8.5% of the medications involved had been in containers with CRC's. Twenty percent were in blister packs or strips. A substantial number of poisonings occurred at a time when medicines were not in their normal place although in most cases they were still in the original container. We propose a two-phase approach to poisoning prevention--more widespread use of CRC's and public education on safe storage of medicines.