Poisoning during the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown: retrospective analysis of exposures reported to French poison control centres

Abstract

Introduction: The aim was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on French Poison Control Centre (PCC) call characteristics. Methods: Reported cases of xenobiotic exposures from 1 March to 30 April in 2018, 2019, and 2020 were extracted from the French National Database of Poisonings. The collected data included call, patient, and exposure characteristics for both general calls and for calls involving sentinel xenobiotic categories related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 exposures were compared to 2018-2019 exposures by using simple logistic models in order to provide effect size with odds ratios. Results: From March to April 2020, 32,182 exposures were reported to French PCCs with an overall increase of 5.6% compared to exposures in the same time frame in 2018-2019. A similar increase in calls was observed in non-epidemic and epidemic COVID-19 areas with an increase in calls from the public (þ13.6%) while calls from health-professionals decreased (À7.5%). Despite the increase in exposures, the incidence of symptomatic exposures remained stable (À0.4%) with a decrease in severity (moderate/severe À17.2%). A significant increase in exposures to home cleaning products containing biocides, essential oils, and alcohol-based hand sanitizers (odds ratio >1.3, p < .0001) was observed. Discussion and conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic altered calls to French PCCs with a small increase in calls during the study period and changes in the pattern of exposure. These changes possibly reflected the indirect consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic i.e., limited access to primary care, fear of contracting COVID-19 and anxiety related to home isolation.

Significant variations of dangerous exposures during COVID-19 pandemic in Italy: a possible association with the containment measures implemented to reduce the virus transmission

“…This evidence could highlight a tendency of the population not to access hospitals or general practitioners if not strictly necessary, a fact in line with the recommendations given during COVID-19 pandemic. Other European PCs also reported this trend [4,5]. To categorize the products included in this study, the EuPCS developed by ECHA was used [11].…”

“…This nding is mainly driven by a decrease of occupational exposures; in fact, high severities are signi cantly linked to this kind of exposures (p < 0.001) (data not shown). Also Le Roux et al[4] detected a signi cant decrease of exposures at work (-45.5%; p < 0.001) in March-April 2020 in comparison with the same period of the previous two years, and at the same time they observed a decrease in severity (moderate/severe − 17.2%). On the contrary, data from US PCs, where containment measures were less restrictive in that period, did not report the same decrease[8].Moreover, fewer intentional exposures and the increased percentage of 1-5 years' children's exposures may have also contributed to a lower severity of the clinical picture: in many cases the effectiveness of children's exposures is uncertain so most of them have little clinical relevance.…”

“…The National Decrees also used as sources the available information provided by CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), ECDC (European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention) and WHO (World Health Organization) about the use of substances active on viruses [3]. These warnings were advertised in the main mass media channels/newspapers/web, mixing both true and false information about use and application of detergents and disinfectants, leading to an increase in accidental exposures to these products [4,5]. This nding is particularly relevant in domestic settings (i.e.…”

“…This nding is particularly relevant in domestic settings (i.e. use of notappropriate products in relation to the intended target or eld of application), while in professional ones a decrease was observed [4,5]. On March-April 2020, Poison Centers (PCs) all over the world launched several alerts concerning the increasing trend of poisonings due to disinfectants.…”

Impact of lockdown on medical emergency visits during the COVID-19 pandemic in India

“…We also found a proportional increase in poisoning cases; this can be attributable to the anxiety of home isolation, disruptions to social supports and activities, fear of contracting COVID-19, aggravated mental health disorders, limited access to primary care socioeconomic destabilisation of individual families. 4 Despite India being the second largest country affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the effect and consequences of lockdown on emergency services have not been clearly defined. Several factors such as the fear of acquiring COVID-19, miscommunication about the health setup reorganisation, strict border closures and related transport issues could have influenced the emergency visits by patients.…”