Profile and Outcome of Childhood Hydrocarbon Poisoning: An Observational Study

Abstract

Background: Accidental poisoning, though preventable, has continued to be one of the most prevalent medical emergencies among children in developing countries.Objective: To describe the clinico-demographic profile and outcome of children with hydrocarbon poisoning at a tertiary care teaching hospital from Eastern India.Methods: A retrospective analysis of the hospital case records of all children <15 years of age admitted with hydrocarbon poisoning from January 2015 to October 2018 was performed.Results: Out of 2658 total admissions, 21 children were admitted with hydrocarbon poisoning during the study period. The median age was 2.6 years (range, 1 to 14 years). Majorities (76%) were <5 years of age. The male/female ratio was 5:2. The majority belonged to rural areas (80.9%) and low socioeconomic status (71.4%). In all the cases, poisoning was accidental in nature. Kerosene (71.4%) and turpentine oil (24%) were the most common agents implicated. Majorities (95.3%) were symptomatic requiring hospitalization. Fever and vomiting were the most commonly observed symptoms (57%). Neutrophilic leucocytosis was observed in 62% of cases. Abnormal chest radiography was observed in 67% of cases. There was no mortality.Conclusions: The majority of the children with hydrocarbon poisoning are under five years of age with the accidental mode of poisoning in the current study. Kerosene was the most common agent. The outcome was excellent without any mortality.

A retrospective study of clinical profile and outcome of children admitted with poisoning in tertiary care hospital, Port Blair

“…In our study, poisoning constituted 0.7% of pediatric admissions which is similar to studies by ZulEidain et al and Manjunath et al 1,8 Male:female ratio was 2:1 in our study which is identical with other studies as well. 2,5,9 Most of our poisoning cases were accidental in nature (n=51, 98%) which was similar to observations in other studies. 2,5,8 The forty five (88%) children of our study population were less than 5 years of age, among which 68% were under 2 years of age with mean age of 3 years and the findings were comparable with studies done by Sridhar et al and Kohli et al 2,5 Kerosene (n=26, 50%) and drugs (n=8, 15%) are the common poisoning agents in our study which is similar to other Indian studies.…”

Accidental kerosene oil ingestion in under-five age children in Nigeria – The need for vigilance in primary care settings in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)

“…[ 9 ] The risk of severe pneumonitis is associated with the ingestion of more than 30 mL of a hydrocarbon, but even less than 1 ml of kerosene has been linked to pulmonary complications. [ 9 ] According to parental accounts, none of the children ingested more than 25 mL, and in all four cases, common features such as cough, dyspnea, and tachypnea[ 12 ] were provoked following the ingestion of chemicals aimed at neutralizing the kerosene and induced vomiting, with two recording low oxygen saturation levels [ Table 1 ].…”