Epidemiological and Clinical Aspects of Acute Intoxications in Children Between 1 Month and 15 Years in the Paediatric Emergency of the UHC Gabriel Toure

Abstract

Introduction: Defined by the WHO as all the pathological manifestations following ingestion of food or the administration of products or drugs behaving like a poison in the body, acute intoxication is a growing problem. serious in pediatrics, in developing countries because of their frequency and the difficulties of care. In Mali, poisoning in children is very poorly assessed, in part due to the lack of popularization of poison control and pharmacovigilance centers. The objective of our study is to study the epidemiological and clinical aspects of acute poisoning in children in the emergency department of the pediatric department of the Gabriel Touré University Hospital. Material and methods: We carried out a retrospective, cross-sectional and descriptive study from January 2016 to December 2018, or a period of 3 years. It concerned children from 1 month to 15 years old hospitalized in the pediatric emergency room of the Gabriel Touré University Hospital for proven acute poisoning. The data were collected by: a pre-established individual survey form, information contained in the medical files of patients after the approval of the Head of the Department. Results: During our study period, 80 children were hospitalized for acute poisoning out of a total of 5,437, a frequency of 1.47%. The sex ratio was 1.3. The 13-48-month age group accounted for 65% of cases. The patients themselves were responsible for their poisoning in 74.2% of cases. Poisoning by unspecified drugs accounted for 25% of cases. The oral route represented 92.4% of the poisoning routes. Ingestion of milk (29.9%) and oil (6.3%) were the most common actions for parents. Vomiting with 35% and respiratory distress with 35% were the most frequent manifestations. The mean hospital stay was 3.5 days (50%). In 50% of cases, death occurred within the first 24 hours. Conclusion: Poisoning remains a common occurrence in our department, mainly linked to several medicines and household products.