Hospitalizations due to poisonings in Finland

Abstract

Poisonings constitute an important category of causes for admission of patients to the emergency room. The annual incidence of hospitalized poisonings in Finland over 2 years (1987-1988) was 11.7 for a population of 10,000 according to the Hospital Discharge Register; it was 8.7/10,000 for drugs and 3.0/10,000 for non-drugs. Children under 6 years of age were most frequently hospitalized because of poisoning (16.9/10,000), followed by adults aged 25-44 years (14.8/10,000). The leading causes of poisoning or chemical injury in children were undefined non-drug poisonings; plants, berries and mushrooms mistaken for edible food, and corrosives. In patients aged 6 years or more, mainly adults, the leading causes were psychotropic drugs, ethanol, and cardiovascular drugs. The pattern of poisoning has changed markedly during the 1980s; the rate of psychotropic and sedative drug poisoning admissions have increased from 35 to 47%, and poisonings due to analgesics have also increased significantly. Conversely, poisonings caused by cardiovascular drugs and antibiotics, solvent poisonings and incidents caused by corrosives have decreased significantly (p < 0.001).