Assessment of the sociodemographic profile, pattern, and outcomes of intentional poisoning cases in an emergency department of a tertiary care teaching hospital: A prospective study

Background: Intentional self-poisoning has become a major health problem in low- and middle-income countries. Aims: We aimed to assess the sociodemographic profile, pattern, and outcomes of intentional poisoning cases in the emergency department of a tertiary care teaching hospital. Method: A prospective observational study was conducted at the department of emergency medicine of a South Indian tertiary care hospital for 1 year to study the sociodemographic profile, pattern, and outcomes of intentional poisoning cases. Results: The majority of poisonings were observed in the male population (64.5%) and among the age group of 19-40 years (65.2%). Poisoning was prevalent in rural/semi-urban populations (77.5%) and in people engaged in agriculture (28.4%) for their livelihood. Pesticides were the most common agents implicated (65.9%) in poisonings. Based on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Poison Severity Scale (PSS), the majority of people with poisoning presented with mild (53.9%) and minor symptoms (36.3%). In 78.5% of the cases, patients recovered while mortality was observed in 5.4% of cases. Conclusion: There was a strong association between outcomes of poisoning and age. Organophosphate pesticides were the most commonly implicated substances in poisonings. Regulation policies should be made by the government to regulate the transport, distribution, and use of insecticides and pesticides.