Objective. The aim of this study was to validate and compare the performance of serum paraquat level, severity index of paraquat poisoning (SIPP), Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II), modifi ed Simplifi ed Acute Physiology Score II (MSAPS II), and modifi ed Expanded Simplifi ed Acute Physiology Score II (MSAPS IIe) calculated immediately after arrival on emergency department (ED) for assessing the mortality of acute paraquat poisoning. Methods . A retrospective study design was employed with the main outcome measure being mortality from year 2001 to 2010. MSAPS II and MSAPS IIe were employed in that assessment of the 24-hour urine output were not included. The performance of APACHE II, MSAPS II, MSAPS IIe, serum paraquat level and SIPP for prediction of mortality in acute paraquat poisoning were compared. Results. A total of 102 patients were enrolled in the study. The area under the ROC curve for APACHE II (0.800) was statistically lower than those for MSAPS II, MSAPS IIe, SIPP and serum paraquat (0.879, 0.893, 0.924,and 0.951, respectively). The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fi t test C statistic revealed that APACHE II, MSAPS II, MSAPS IIe and serum paraquat level showed good calibrations (chi-square 8.477 and p ϭ 0.388, chi-square 4.614 and p ϭ 0.798, chi-squared 5.301 and p ϭ 0.725, chisquared 1.009 and p ϭ 0.985 respectively), but poor calibration for SIPP (chi-square 21.293 and p ϭ 0.006). Conclusion. Serum paraquat level is still the most reliable prognosis factor in acute paraquat poisoning. But MSAPS II or MSAPS IIe calculated immediately after arrival on ED may be helpful to predict mortality in acute paraquat poisoning especially when hospital has no facility to measure serum paraquat level.

Background: The Hong Kong Poison Information Centre (HKPIC) provides consultation service to health care professionals and collect epidemiological data on poisoning in Hong Kong since 2005. Objective: To report and analyse the data of Hong Kong Poison Information Centre on poisoning in 2019. Methods: This was a retrospective review of all poisoning cases recorded in the Poison Information and Clinical Management System of Hong Kong Poison Information Centre in 2019. Results: A total of 4016 poisoned cases were analysed, which involved 1698 men (42.3%), 2312 women (57.6%) and 6 sex-unspecified patients (0.1%). Majority of cases (77.3%) were between 13 and 69 years of age, and 10.5% were teenagers 13–19 years of age. Self-harm/suicidal attempt (42.1%), unintentional exposure (18.1%) and abusive substance use (11.1%) were common reasons of poisoning. Excluding ethanol, which was the common co-ingestant, the five most common types of poison were benzodiazepines, paracetamol, household products, zopiclone and Chinese herbal medicine. While most patients were managed with supportive treatment, 16.5% and 16.8% of the consultation cases were treated with decontamination and antidotes, respectively. Majority of cases recovered uneventfully, but 1.0% died and 4.7% had a major outcome. A total of six interesting cases and two outbreaks were discussed in this report. Conclusion: This 14th annual report provided updated epidemiological information on the pattern of poisoning in Hong Kong and highlighted a number of important changes compared with our previous reports.

Results: A total of 4096 poisoned cases were analysed. There were 1871 male patients (45.7%), 2203 female patients (53.8%) and 22 sex unspecified patients (0.5%). The majority of the cases (63.1%) were between 20 and 59 years old. Common causes for poisoning were suspected self-harm/suicidal attempt (36.3%), unintentional exposure (18.4%) and abusive use (13.1%). Excluding the common co-ingestant ethanol, the five commonest types of poisons were benzodiazepines, paracetamol, household products, zopiclone and Chinese herbal medicine. Most patients were managed with supportive measures, while 14.3% and 12.9% of them were treated by decontamination and antidotes, respectively. Majority of the cases had uneventful recovery; 1% resulted in death and 3.9% had major outcomes. Six interesting cases and three poisoning outbreaks were discussed. Conclusion: This 11th annual report provided the updated epidemiological information on poisoning pattern in Hong Kong and highlighted important changes in comparing with our previous reports.

Objectives: To report and analyse the poisoning data of Hong Kong Poison Information Centre in 2017. Methods: In 2017, all poisoning cases received by Hong Kong Poison Information Centre were retrieved from its database (Poison Information and Clinical Management System) for analysis. Results: A total of 3956 poisoned cases were analysed. There were 1789 male patients (45.2%), 2159 female patients (54.6%) and 8 sex-unspecified patients (0.2%). The majority of cases (59.9%) were between 20 and 59 years old. The common causes of poisoning were suspected self-harm/suicidal attempt (36.2%), unintentional exposure (18.6%) and abusive substance use (13.7%). Excluding the common co-ingestant ethanol, the five commonest types of poison were benzodiazepines, paracetamol, zopiclone, Chinese herbal medicine and household products. Most patients were managed with supportive measures, while 17.4% and 13.2% of consultation cases were treated by decontamination and antidotes, respectively. The majority of the cases had uneventful recovery; 1.1% resulted in death and 4.3% had major outcomes. A total of 13 interesting cases and 1 poisoning outbreak were discussed. Conclusion: This 12th annual report provided the updated epidemiological information on poisoning pattern in Hong Kong and highlighted important changes in comparison with our previous reports.

Objective: The aim of this study was to report and analyse the poisoning data of Hong Kong Poison Information Centre in 2018. Methods: In 2018, all poisoning cases received by Hong Kong Poison Information Centre were retrieved from its database, Poison Information and Clinical Management System, for analysis. Results: A total of 3960 poisoned cases were analysed. There were 1770 male patients (44.7%), 2188 female patients (55.3%) and 2 sex-unspecified patients (<0.1%). The majority of cases (68.3%) were between 20 and 69 years old, and 9.9% involved children of 0–5 years old. The common causes of poisoning were suspected self-harm/suicidal attempt (36.6%), unintentional exposure (18.4%) and abusive substance use (11.1%). Excluding the common co-ingestant ethanol, the five commonest types of poison were benzodiazepines, paracetamol, Chinese herbal medicine, household products and zopiclone. Most patients were managed with supportive measures, while 13.5% and 13.7% of consultation cases were treated by decontamination and antidotes, respectively. The majority of cases had uneventful recovery; 0.8% resulted in death and 4.9% had major outcomes. A total of eight interesting cases were discussed. Conclusion: This 13th annual report provided the updated epidemiological information on poisoning pattern in Hong Kong and highlighted important changes in comparison with our previous reports.

Background: The Hong Kong Poison Information Centre has provided consultation service to healthcare professionals and collected epidemiological data on poisoning in Hong Kong since 2005. Objective: To analyse and report the poisoning data of Hong Kong Poison Information Centre in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A retrospective review of all poisoning cases recorded in the Poison Information and Clinical Management System of Hong Kong Poison Information Centre in 2020. Results: A total of 3633 poisoning cases were analysed. Compared to 2019 (pre-COVID era), there was a reduction of ~10% of total poisoning cases recorded (383 cases), with a majority (> 90%) of reduction from poisoning cases with no clinical effect (353 cases). A greater proportion of reduction was observed among the children (0–12 years), patients with general unintentional poisoning, poisoning due to therapeutic error and food poisoning. An increased number of cases was noted from abusive use, adverse herb/proprietary Chinese medicine reaction and poisoning related to household bleaches. Teenage (13–19 years) poisoning seemed to be unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the previously observed increasing trend continued (up to 11.8% of total poisoning cases this year). Despite a total reduction in poisoning cases recorded, the number of deaths increased by 37% from 35 in 2019 to 48 in 2020 (mortality rate 1.5%). A total of seven interesting cases were discussed. Conclusion: This 15th annual report provides updated epidemiological information on poisoning patterns in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also highlighted important changes and possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on poisoning in Hong Kong in comparison with our previous reports.