A AB BS S T TR RA AC CT T O Ob bj je ec ct ti iv ve e: : We investigated the etiological and demographical characteristics of exposures to drugs and poisons reported to the Dokuz Eylul University Drug and Poison Information Center (DPIC), in 2007. M Ma at te er ri ia al l a an nd d M Me et th ho od ds s: : The data regarding demographic details of the cases and involving substance(s), route and reason for the exposure, date, time, site and circumstances of poisonings are reviewed retrospectively. Beside these, clinical effects of the incidents, the recommendations by DPIC and outcomes of the patients were also evaluated from the standard data forms. Descriptive statistics, contingency tables and Pearson Chi-square test was performed to analyze the data. R Re es su ul lt ts s: : DPIC received 2576 calls in 2007 and most of them were related to poisoning incidents. A vast majority (97%) of these calls was made from the health care facilities and 73.3 % of them were from Izmir. Most of the incidents were intentional attempts (65.5%) in nature and there was a female predominance (χ 2 =385.03, P<0.001). Rate of unintentional exposures was significantly higher in 0-12 year-old children than in the 13-18 year-old teenagers (χ 2 =374.59, P<0.001). Ingestion was the most common route of exposure (92.7%). Medications were the predominant substances in the exposures (72.5%) followed by chemicals, metals, cosmetics (4.7%) and alcohol (4.7%). Analgesics (15.5%) and antidepressants (13.5%) were leading drugs involved in these events, particularly paracetamol and amitriptyline (11.8 and 3.9%)respectively. Recommended treatments by DPIC included activated charcoal (24.5%), supportive care (23.1%), gastric lavage (15.0%), antidotes (2.2%) and skin decontamination. There were two mortalities (0.08%) associated with a scorpion sting and carbon monoxide inhalation. C Co on nc cl lu us si io on n: : Analgesics and antidepressants were found to be the main causes of poisoning exposures in the review of DPIC reports. Research studies can be accomplished in this field with the assistance of national poisoning database system which compiles the information gained from all poison information centers in Turkey.K Ke ey y W Wo or rd ds s: : Poison control centers; poisoning Ö ÖZ ZE ET T A Am ma aç ç: : Bu çalışmada, Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi İlaç ve Zehir Bilgi Merkezi'ne (İZBM) 2007 yılı içinde bildirilen ilaç ve diğer zehirlenme olgularının etyolojik ve demografik özellikleri incelenmiştir. G Ge er re eç ç v ve e Y Yö ön nt te em ml le er r: : Olguların ve kullanılan maddelerin demografik özelliklerine, alım yolu ve nedenine ilişkin veriler, zehirlenmelerin tarih, zaman, yer ve koşulları geriye dönük olarak gözden geçirildi. Bunların dışında, olayların klinik etkileri, İZBM'in önerileri ve hasta sonuçları da standart veri formları aracılığı ile değerlendirildi. Verilerin değerlendirilmesinde tanımlayıcı istatistikler, olumsallık tabloları ve Pearson Kikare testi kullanıldı. B Bu ul lg gu ul la ar r: : 2007 yılında İZBM'e toplam 2576 çağrı ...

Background: In this survey, it was aimed to determine the types of medicinal herbs and herbal products, reasons of use and consciousness levels among the medical students in the first three years of the School of Medicine.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire consisting of 50 questions was applied to all the students in the first three years of Dokuz Eylül University School of Medicine between September 1, 2016 and June 1, 2017.Results: The results of 571 participating students were evaluated. Of these students, 301 (52.7%) were females and 270 (47.3%) were males. It was found that 73.4% (n=419) of the students used these products for treatment and mostly consumed linden, sage tea, mint and rosehip. Also, 11.6% of the students had chronic diseases (n=66). It was determined that 69.7% (n=46) of these students having chronic diseases used medicinal herbs and herbal products. Only 12.0% of the students had an opinion about the legal regulations regarding the use of herbs and herbal products in Turkey, while 39.7% of them had no idea, and 48.3% stated that such regulations on this matter were unreasonable. However, 59.7% of the respondents stated that legal regulations were necessary. It was found that the participating students used herbs and herbal products generally for therapeutic purposes without having sufficient knowledge about medicinal herbs; therefore it was necessary to increase their level of consciousness.Conclusions: Medical students neither have adequate medical information about medicinal herbs and herbal products, nor about the regulations on these products. It is crucial to revise the courses in the medical education so that the students would get informed about the regulations as well as potential risks of herbal plants while still in the medical schools.

Poisoning is a global health problem and continues to cause morbidity and mortality both in the developed and developing countries (1, 2). Novel drugs of abuse and products containing toxic chemicals and chemical threats resulting from natural disasters or conflicts have also occurred recently (3,4). The World Health Organization (WHO) supports the establishment of poison centers among other activities for the prevention and management of poisonings worldwide (4). A poison center or a Drug and Poison Information Centre (DPIC), is a specialized unit providing information on poisoning. The DPIC information service is expected to be uninterrupted and be available to the community 24 hours a day throughout the year. The core DPIC functions also cover toxicovigilance, research, and education and training (5). With these important functions highlighted, DPIC operations might be complicated with inadequate number of staff or budget (5,6).The purpose of this report is to evaluate the service capacity of a regional DPIC on the poison information activities in a developing country and to analyze the demographic, clinical, and treatment recommendations data of poisoning cases in 2014. METHODSThis retrospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was approved by the