COVID‐19 pandemic and methanol poisoning outbreak in Iranian children and adolescents: A data linkage study

Abstract

Background: During the first wave of COVID-19, many Iranians were poisoned by ingesting hand sanitizers and/or alcoholic beverages to avoid viral infection. To assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in an increased prevalence of accidental hand sanitizer/alcoholic beverage exposure in children and adolescents, we compared pediatric hospitalization rates during COVID-19 and the previous year. For poisoning admissions during COVID-19, we also evaluated the cause by age and clinical outcomes. Methods: This retrospective data linkage study evaluated data from the Legal Medicine Organization (reporting mortalities) and hospitalization data from nine toxicology referral centers for alcohol-poisoned patients (age 0 to 18 years) for the study period (February 23 to June 22, 2020) and the pre-COVID-19 reference period (same dates in 2019).Results: Hospitalization rates due to ethanol and methanol exposure were significantly higher in 2020 (n = 375) than 2019 (n = 202; OR [95% CI] 1.9 [1.6, 2.2],

Trends in mortality related to unintentional poisoning in the South Asian region from 1990 to 2019: analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease Study

“… 45 58–63 Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to unintentional poisoning events as people throughout the world have started using a variety of chemical and pharmaceutical substances to prevent and treat COVID-19 infections. 64 65 This situation may be worst in South Asian countries due to unregulated manufacturing and use of environmental cleansers and alcohol-based hand sanitisers in combination with some of the population self-medicating with OTC medications and traditional or herbal medicines.…”

“…Therefore, it is critical not to ignore the public health importance of preventing unintentional poisoning across all age groups in all socioeconomic profiles, specially addressing the health disparity and equity issues surrounding poisoning prevention, as various studies have shown that the lower socioeconomic class and the poor are more prone to unintentional poisoning as compared with the well-off population 45 58–63. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to unintentional poisoning events as people throughout the world have started using a variety of chemical and pharmaceutical substances to prevent and treat COVID-19 infections 64 65. This situation may be worst in South Asian countries due to unregulated manufacturing and use of environmental cleansers and alcohol-based hand sanitisers in combination with some of the population self-medicating with OTC medications and traditional or herbal medicines.…”

An interrupted time series analysis of hospital admissions due to alcohol intoxication during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Tehran, Iran

“…People started to drink alcoholic beverages and even sanitizers to prevent infection. On the other hand, increased demand for hand sanitizers led to scarcity and finally indulgence of the market with low-quality products containing methanol 45 .…”

Detecting fake news and disinformation using artificial intelligence and machine learning to avoid supply chain disruptions

“…Due to the widespread false information about COVID-19, there was an epidemic of methanol poisoning. It is claimed that 796 Iranians lost their lives to the alcohol intoxication after reading online claims that alcohol may treat their illnesses (Mahdavi et al, 2021 ). This echoed the rapid dissemination of false information regarding COVID-19 on social media at the outbreak’s onset and disrupted the supply of many food items (Mahdavi et al, 2021 ).…”

“…It is claimed that 796 Iranians lost their lives to the alcohol intoxication after reading online claims that alcohol may treat their illnesses (Mahdavi et al, 2021 ). This echoed the rapid dissemination of false information regarding COVID-19 on social media at the outbreak’s onset and disrupted the supply of many food items (Mahdavi et al, 2021 ). Some people falsely claim that using alcohol to rinse the mouth and avoid COVID-19 infection works (Delirrad & Mohammadi, 2020; Soltaninejad, 2020).…”