IntroductionThis is the 2016 Annual Report of the University of Kansas Health System Poison Control Center (PCC). The PCC is one of 55 certified poison control centers in the United States and serves the state of Kansas 24-hours a day, 365 days a year, with certified specialists in poison information and medical toxicologists. The PCC receives calls from the public, law enforcement, health care professionals, and public health agencies. All calls to the PCC are recorded electronically in the Toxicall® data management system and uploaded in near real-time to the National Poison Data System (NPDS), which is the data repository for all poison control centers in the United States.MethodsAll encounters reported to the PCC from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 were analyzed. Data recorded for each exposure includes caller location, age, weight, gender, substance exposed to, nature of exposure, route of exposure, interventions, medical outcome, disposition and location of care. Encounters were classified further as human exposure, animal exposure, confirmed non-exposure, or information call (no exposure reported).ResultsThe PCC logged 21,965 total encounters in 2016, including 20,713 human exposure cases. The PCC received calls from every county in Kansas. The majority of human exposure cases (50.4%, n = 10,174) were female. Approximately 67% (n = 13,903) of human exposures involved a child (defined as age 19 years or less). Most encounters occurred at a residence (94.0%, n = 19,476) and most calls (72.3%, n = 14,964) originated from a residence. The majority of human exposures (n = 18,233) were acute cases (exposures occurring over eight hours or less). Ingestion was the most common route of exposure documented (86.3%, n = 17,882). The most common reported substance in pediatric encounters was cosmetics/personal care products (n = 1,362), followed by household cleaning product (n = 1,301). For adult encounters, sedatives/hypnotics/antipsychotics (n = 1,130) and analgesics (n = 1,103) were the most frequently involved substances. Unintentional exposures were the most common reason for exposures (81.3%, n = 16,836). Most encounters (71.1%, n = 14,732) were managed in a non-healthcare facility (i.e., a residence). Among human exposures, 14,679 involved exposures to pharmaceutical agents while 10,176 involved exposure to non-pharmaceuticals. Medical outcomes were 32% (n = 6,582) no effect, 19% (n = 3,911) minor effect, 8% (n = 1,623) moderate effect, and 2% (n = 348) major effects. There were 15 deaths in 2016 reported to the PCC. Number of exposures, calls from healthcare facilities, cases with moderate or major medical outcomes, and deaths all increased in 2016 compared to 2015.ConclusionThe results of the 2016 University of Kansas Health System Poison Control annual report demonstrates that the center receives calls from the entire state of Kansas totaling over 20,000 human exposures per year. While pediatric exposures remain the most common, there is an increasing number of calls from healthcare facilities and for c...

Background. This is the 2018 Annual Report of the Kansas Poison Control Center at The University of Kansas Health System (KSPCC). The KSPCC serves the state of Kansas 24-hours per day, 365 days a year with certified specialists in poison information and clinical and medical toxicologists.  Methods. All encounters reported to the KSPCC from 01/01/2018 through 12/31/2018 were analyzed. Data recorded for each exposure included caller location, age, weight, gender, exposure substance, nature of exposure, route of exposure, interventions, medical outcome, disposition, and location of care.  Results. There were 21,072 total encounters, including 20,031 human exposure cases. Calls were received from every county and hospital in Kansas. Most of the exposures involved females (51.5%, n = 10,320) and a child less than 19 year of age (64%, n = 12,865). Medical outcomes were 24.5% (n = 4,912) no effect, 17.7% (n = 3,542) minor effect, 9.1% (n = 1,830) moderate effect, and 2.4% (n = 476) major effect. Seven deaths were reported in 2018. The number of exposure calls from healthcare facilities and severity of medical outcomes increased in 2018 compared to 2017.  Conclusions. The 2018 KSPCC annual report demonstrated that the center receives calls from the entire state of Kansas totaling over 20,000 human exposures. While pediatric exposures remain the most common encounter, a trend continued of an increasing number of calls from healthcare facilities and for cases with serious outcomes. This report supported the continued value of the KSPCC to both public and acute health care in the state of Kansas.

Introduction This is the 2017 Annual Report of the University of Kansas Health System Poison Control Center (PCC). The PCC is one of 55 certified poison control centers in the United States and serves the state of Kansas 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. The PCC receives calls from the public, law enforcement, health care professionals, and public health agencies, which are answered by trained and certified specialists in poison information with the immediate availability of medical toxicology back up. All calls to the PCC are recorded electronically in the Toxicall® data management system and uploaded in near real-time to the National Poison Data System (NPDS), which is the data repository for all poison control centers in the United States. Methods All encounters reported to the PCC from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 were analyzed. Data recorded for each exposure included caller location, age, weight, gender, substance exposed to, nature of exposure, route of exposure, interventions, medical outcome, disposition and location of care. Encounters were classified further as human exposure, animal exposure, confirmed non-exposure, or information call (no exposure reported). Results The PCC logged 21,431 total encounters in 2017, including 20,278 human exposure cases. Cases came from every county in Kansas. Most of the human exposure cases (51.4%, n = 10,430) were female. Approximately 66% (n = 13,418) of human exposures involved a child (defined as age less than 20 years). Most encounters occurred at a residence (94.0%, n = 19,018) and most calls (69.5%, n = 14,090) originated from a residence. Almost all human exposures (n = 19,823) were acute cases (exposures occurring over eight hours or less). Ingestion was the most common route of exposure documented (80.5%, n = 17,466). The most common reported substance in pediatric encounters was cosmetics/personal care products (n = 1,255), followed by household cleaning products (n = 1,251). For adult encounters, analgesics (n = 1,160) and sedatives/hypnotics/antipsychotics (n = 1,127) were the most frequently involved substances. Unintentional exposures were the most common reason for exposures (78.6%, n = 15,947). Most encounters (69.4%, n = 14,073) were managed in a non-health care facility (i.e., a residence). Among human exposures, 14,940 involved exposures to pharmaceutical agents, while 9,896 involved exposure to non-pharmaceuticals. Medical outcomes were 28% (n = 5,741) no effect, 18% (n = 3,693) minor effect, 9% (n = 1,739) moderate effect, and 2% (n = 431) major effect. There were 16 deaths in 2017 reported to the PCC. Number of exposures, calls from health care facilities, cases with moderate or major medical outcomes, and deaths increased in 2017 compared to 2016, despite a decrease in total exposures. Conclusions The results of the 2017 University of Kansas Health System Poison Control annual report demonstrated that the center continues to receive calls from the entire state of Kansas, totaling over 20,000 human exposures per year. While pediatric exposures remain the most common, a trend of increasing number of calls remains from health care facilities and for cases with serious outcomes. The 2017 PCC data reflected current national trends. This report demonstrated the continued importance of the PCC to both the public and health care providers in the state of Kansas.

INTRODUCTION. This is the 2019 Annual Report of the Kansas Poison Control Center at The University of Kansas Health System (KSPCC). The KSPCC is one of 55 certified poison control centers in the United States and serves the state of Kansas 24-hours a day, 365 days a year with certified specialists in poison information and clinical and medical toxicologists.  The KSPCC receives calls from the public, law enforcement, health care professionals, and public health agencies.  All calls to the KSPCC are recorded electronically in the Toxicall® data management system and uploaded in near real-time to the National Poison Data System (NPDS) which is the data repository for all poison control centers in the United States.   METHODS.  All encounters reported to the KSPCC from 01/01/2019 through 12/31/2019 were analyzed. Data recorded for each exposure includes caller location, age, weight, gender, exposure substance, nature of exposure, route of exposure, interventions, medical outcome, disposition and location of care.  Encounters were further classified as human exposure, animal exposure, confirmed non-exposure or information call (no exposure reported). RESULTS.  The KSPCC logged 20,589 total encounters in 2019, including 19,406 human exposure cases.  The KSPCC received calls from every county in Kansas.  A slim majority of human exposure cases (50.5%, n=9,790) were female.  Approximately 61% (n=11,876) of human exposures involved a child (defined as 19 years of age or less).  Most encounters occurred at a residence (91.6%, n=17,780) and most cases (64.9%, n=12,599) originated from a residence.  The majority of human exposures (85.5%, n=16,589) were acute cases (exposures occurring over 8 hours or less).  Ingestion was the most common route of exposure documented (85.3%, n=16,548).  The most common reported substance in pediatric (children ≤5) encounters was cosmetics/personal care products (n=959) followed closely by household cleaning product (n=943).  For adult encounters, analgesics (n=1,296) and sedative/hypnotics/antipsychotics (n=1,084) were the most frequently involved substances.  Unintentional exposures were the most common reason for exposures (75.4%, n=14,634).  Most encounters (65.9%, n=12,780) were managed in a non-healthcare facility (i.e. a residence).  Among human exposures, 14,591 involved exposures to pharmaceutical agents while 9,439 involved exposure to non-pharmaceuticals.  Medical outcomes were 26.4% (n=5,116) no effect, 18.8% (n=3,652) minor effect, 9.3% (n=1,813) moderate effect, and 3.1% (n=603) major effects.  There were 14 deaths in 2019 reported to the KSPCC.  Cases from healthcare facilities, and cases with moderate or major medical outcomes and increased in 2019 compared to 2018.  The number of deaths reported to the KSPCC increased in 2019 to 14 from 7 in 2018. CONCLUSIONS.  The results of the 2019 Kansas Poison Control Center’s annual report demonstrate that cases are received from the entire state of Kansas totaling over 19,400 human exposures per year.  While pediatric exposures remain the most common encounter, there continues an trend of increasing number of cases from healthcare facilities and for cases with serious outcomes.  The experience of the KSPCC is comparable to national data.  This report supports the continued value of the KSPCC to both public and acute health care in the state of Kansas.

Introduction. This is the 2020 Annual Report of the Kansas Poison Control Center (KSPCC) at The University of Kansas Health System. The KSPCC receives calls from the public, law enforcement, health care professionals, and public health agencies.Methods. Encounters reported to the KSPCC from 01/01/2020 through 12/31/2020 were analyzed for caller location, demographics, exposure substance, nature of exposure, route of exposure, interventions, medical outcome, and location of care. Encounters were classified as human or animal exposure, confirmed non-exposure, or information call (no exposure).Results. There were 19,780 total encounters, including 18,492 human exposure cases. These cases were primarily female (53.6%, n = 9,911) and pediatric (19 years of age or less). (59.5%, n = 10,995). Acute cases (82.7%, n = 15,294), unintentional exposures (73.8%, n = 13,643) and ingestions (85.9%, n = 15,901) were most common. The most common reported substance was household cleaning products (n = 937) in pediatric (children ≤ 5) and analgesics (n = 1,335) in adults. An increase in exposures to disinfectants and household cleaning products was seen. Moderate (n = 1,812) or major (n=482) clinical outcomes were seen in 12.4% of cases. There were 18 deaths in 2020 reported to the KSPCC.Conclusions. Over 18,400 exposures were managed by the KSPCC in 2020. Pediatric exposures remained the most common encounter. An increase in exposures to disinfectants and other household cleaning products was seen. This report supports the continued value of the KSPCC to both public and acute health care in the state of Kansas.