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Background: Poisoning is a substantial type of unintentional injury in children that is associated with significant mortality and morbidity. Methods: This study reviewed the patterns of poisoning in children in Iran. Results: Based on the results of the studies, the prevalence of poisoning is higher in boys and the most poisoned children were in the age group of 1 to 3 years. Drugs were the main toxic factors, followed by narcotics and opium. The rate of poisoning was higher in urban areas. Neurological symptoms were the main signs and symptoms in poisoned children. Most patients were completely cured and the mortality rate was about 2%. Family addition, unsafe storage of drugs, and lack of parental supervision over children were the main risk factors for poisoning among children. Conclusion: Unintentional poisonings are still common among children in developing countries. Drug poisoning is the main cause of poisoning in children. Therefore, increasing knowledge and awareness about the types of poisoning and how to prevent it is very important in preventing childhood poisoning.

Background Zinc phosphide (ZnP) is a dark gray crystalline compound used as a rodenticide against rodents such as mice. ZnP poisoning may be accidental or suicidal. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical manifestations and treatment management of hospitalized patients with ZnP poisoning in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. Methods Between 2013 and 2017, a cross-sectional study was performed on hospitalized patients with ZnP poisoning who were referred to two training hospitals in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran. Results A total of 127 patients participated in this trial, including 71 (55.9%) men and 56 (44.1%) women. The patients’ average (standard deviation) age was 25.5 (±16.82) years, and it took 2.18 (±2.23) hours to refer them to the hospital. There were 42 (33%) cases with less than one package, 9 (7%) cases with several packages, and 76 (60%) cases with no particular usage. Conclusions This study has shown that ZnP poisoning may be asymptomatic initially or with mild clinical symptoms that may gradually worsen. Therefore, hospitalization and obtaining a history and a careful physical examination should be considered.

Objectives: This study was aimed to evaluate the various demographic and clinical characteristics in hospitalized children with COVID-19 as well as their comorbidities. Methods: This cross-sectional study evaluated a total of 809 hospitalized COVID-19 patients under 18 years of age in the referral university based Ali-Asghar Hospital in 2020. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients were extracted from the archived records and data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 26. Results: The mean age of patients was 4.1 years and the higher percentage of patients (57%) were male. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 in children were fever, cough, and diarrhea.  As well, the most common symptoms in 22.1% of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) were gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (79%), fever (62.6%), and respiratory distress (53.6%), respectively. The majority of patients were in the age group less than one year (52%) and mortality rate was 6.3% in total and 10% in children with underlying disease. Besides, the mortality rate of intubated cases was 13 times higher. Conclusion: The findings of present study showed that COVID-19 in children was associated with various clinicopathological manifestations. Underlying disease including respiratory distress, cancer, and kidney disease as well as GI symptoms might be guided predicting the hospitalized cases in ICU. Newborns less than one year of age are exposed to severe COVID-19 infection which is associated with higher mortality rate and it should be given special attention in the early diagnosis and management of the COVID-19 disease.

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