Acute Poisoning in Children: Cases Hospitalized During a Three-Year Period in Trinidad

The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological features of acute poisoning in children less than 16 years old who were admitted to a pediatric hospital in north Trinidad. The results revealed that 11.2% of all poisonings were suicidal. There was a significant increase in suicidal poisonings from 2 in 1999 to 13 in 2000. Females accounted for 68.4% of suicides & males for 31.5%. The only fatality amongst all cases of poisoning was the result of a suicidal ingestion of herbicide. (14 refs)