Volume : IX, Issue : IV, April - 2019

Assessment of Poisoning cases in a tertiary care hospital in Kashmir valley. A longitudinal study

Wajeed Yousuf, Kouser Sideeq Lone, Adil Ashraf, Najma Saqib, Awadh Mueed Yousuf

Abstract :

Background: Poisoning is a major problem globally and its incidence is rising due to rapid industrialization and urbanization. The exact incidence of acute poisoning is not known in India because of lack of any central poison registry. Same is the case with Kashmir. The toxins involved in acute poisoning cases vary from place to place. In western countries, the commonest toxins are medicinal agents. In contrast, in India, insecticides and pesticides are the most commonly consumed agents in adults while kerosene oil is the most common toxin in children. Knowledge of commonly encountered poisons in a particular area is important for practicing physicians as it may help in early diagnosis and institution of life–saving treatment. Methodology: A longitudinal study was conducted in one of the two tertiary care hospitals in Kashmir valley. All the cases with poisoning coming to the emergency department of the SMHS hospital for the period of one year were included in the study. Data were collected from the history given by the patient, hospital records, police inquest reports and relatives. Results: We studied 101 patients of poisoning in this longitudinal study .We found that 96 percent of cases were suicidal in nature and 4 percent were accidental. In maximum cases reason was family issues and quarrel with family member’s .Only four patients expired among this study population due to poisoning. Major complication among these patients was hypernatrimia in 12.9%. Conclusion: This study points towards the need of taking strict actions to restrict the easy availability and accessibility of poisonous chemicals within the families and in the community to prevent the high cases of suicidal poisoning especially among students.

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Article: Download PDF   DOI : 10.36106/ijar  

Cite This Article:

ASSESSMENT OF POISONING CASES IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN KASHMIR VALLEY. A LONGITUDINAL STUDY, Wajeed Yousuf, Kouser Sideeq Lone, Adil Ashraf, Najma Saqib, Awadh Mueed Yousuf INDIAN JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH : Volume-9 | Issue-4 | April-2019

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