Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Accidental ingestion of poisons in children is an important health problem all over the world. Over 90% of poisonings occur in household settings, and 40% happen during childhood. Recognition of the current etiologies of poisonings may be helpful in adoption of strategies for their prevention and prophylactic therapy.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the medical records of children aged 12 years or younger were collected from the 17th of Shahrivar Hospital in Rasht, Iran in 2010. The study was performed in collaboration with the Adverse drug reaction (ADR) Committee of Guilan University of Medical Sciences.

Results: Out of 3299 pediatric admissions, 4.27% were identified as accidental poisoning. 86.5% of children were below the age of five and the majority was in 1-5 year age group. Admission rates were higher during the spring season. The most common toxicities occurred by ingestion of drugs (56.73%) and kerosene (9.92%). Chlorine bleach (8.51%), rodenticides (5.67%), opium (4.25%) and mushrooms (3.54%) were other causes, respectively. No deaths had been recorded.

Conclusion: Informing parents about hazardous materials, especially kerosene, and medications which need to be kept out of reach of children seems to be helpful in reducing occurrences of poisonings and their subsequent complications.