Causes of poisoning in patients evaluated in a hospital emergency department in Konya, Turkey.

Objectives: To evaluate demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with poisoning at a community hospital.

Methods: The retrospective study comprised records of patients who were admitted to the emergency department of Konya Numune Hospital, Turkey, because of poisoning between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2011. Data was evaluated for age, gender, educational status, occupation, arrival time, mechanism of intoxication , body temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, Glasgow Coma Scale score, treatment applied, duration of hospital stay, duration of follow-up, test results, final diagnosis, clinical disposition, and outcome. Agents causing the poisoning were also determined.

Results: Records of 1036 patients were evaluated. Of them, 764(74%) were female and 272(26%) were male. The predominant age range was 15-24 years in 617(60%) patients. The median time from substance exposure to admission to the emergency department was 2 hours. The most common cause of poisoning was attempted suicide in 955 [92%] patients and drug intoxication was the agent involved in 932 (90%). In the 15-24 year age range, there were 469 (76%) female patients. Of the total female population in the study, 716 (94%) attempted suicide. The median hospital stay was 24 hours. There were 908 (88%) patients who were advised to seek further evaluation at the psychiatry clinic, and 9 (0.9%) patients were admitted to the psychiatry inpatient units after medical treatment. In patients who were hospitalized and followed up, 1 (0.1%) died because of multiple drug poisoning.

Conclusion: Most admissions to the emergency department for poisoning related to young women had used drugs during a suicide attempt.