Epidemiology of poisoning in Bamako, Mali

Abstract

Introduction: In Mali, poisoning is a public health problem through its multiple circumstances. Its management is a pre-hospital concern given the lack of qualified personnel, adequate medical equipment and lack of knowledge of the substances involved in poisoning. The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiological profile of poisoning in Bamako. Methods: The study was conducted in six Reference Health Centers in the District of Bamako. This was a retrospective study of poisoning cases covering the period from January 2010 to December 2019. The data used was collected from registers and patient medical records. Results: During the study period, we collected 2,112 cases of poisoning. The sex-ratio (M/F) was 1.5 in favour of males. More than two-thirds of cases (66.7%) were due to foodborne diseases, followed by drug poisoning, with 18.7% of cases. The majority of patients were pupils and students (69.7%) and 5.5% were housewives. The circumstances were most often accidental, with 82% of cases. In addition, the clinical signs were dominated by gastrointestinal disorders: diarrhea (40%), vomiting (40%) and respiratory distress (9.4%). Conclusion: Reducing the risk of poisoning and improving their management requires education of the population and professional training of health workers.