Retrospective assessment of acute poisoning incidents by pharmaceutical agents in Jordan: Data from Pharmacy One™ Poison Call Center, 2014 to 2018—Part II

Abstract

Poison control centers provide surveillance data that can be used to estimate the magnitude of poisoning cases and the level of public awareness and to evaluate control measures. The aim of this study is to describe the drug‐related poisoning queries received by the Pharmacy One™ Poisoning Call Center (P1PCC) in Jordan. This is a retrospective descriptive study of the acute drug‐related poisoning incidents in the Jordanian population recorded by the P1PCC during the 2014‐2018 period. The inquiries received were recorded on a predesigned form. The demographic data, including the age and the sex of the patient, the route of and reason for exposure and the drug therapeutic groups, in addition to medical outcomes, were extracted utilizing computerized Oracle and Excel spreadsheets. During the period of evaluation, 900 drug‐related poisoning incidents were reported to the P1PCC. The majority of calls (48.5%) were received via 911, followed by the public (48.56%) and healthcare professionals (27.1%). More than half of the poisoning incidents were recorded among males (52.5%). Adults were the most affected group (40.5%), followed by children (34.0%). Unintentional exposure was the most common cause of poisoning (58.6%), followed by suicide attempts (25.3%). Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs and paracetamol caused the majority of the reported cases. Poisoning incidents were mainly classified as mild to moderate (56.1%), while only 16.6% were severe. The P1PCC has demonstrated an important and vital role in improving patient safety and providing education on rational drug use. Reflections on these data can be used to increase public awareness in promoting the rational use of medications among Jordanian citizens.

Frequency and Management of Acute Poisoning Among Children Attending an Emergency Department in Saudi Arabia

“…Most incidents were in boys which is consistent with other recent studies [ 27 , 28 ]. Although there have been no comprehensive epidemiological studies of the incidence of poisoning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to date, studies published for different Gulf regions and time periods also indicate that children 4 or 5 years and younger are most often affected; similar results were reported in studies worldwide [ 1 , 7 , 9 , 11 , 14 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ]. The literature notes that the balance switches in adolescents when girls were more likely to attend hospital emergency departments with intentional poisoning [ 1 , 15 ].…”

“…Analgesics—specifically non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs—as well as household cleaning substances are the most common poisons in children in recent studies [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 19 , 21 , 23 , 30 ]. In these studies, analgesics like paracetamol were the most documented cause of poisoning in children (39.1%) in addition to pharmaceutical products such as syrups that attract children due to colors and flavors followed by anticonvulsants (18.8%) and antipsychotics (13%) [ 1 , 28 ] Other studies have reported that neurological medicines were the most common drugs causing poisoning in children followed by analgesics [ 10 , 21 ].…”

“…Studies by Berta et al (2020) in Northern Italy [ 7 ], Patel et al (2017) in the United States [ 8 ], Ahmed et al (2015) in Qatar, [ 9 ], Mintegi et al (2006) in Spain [ 10 ], Hoy et al (1999), Reith et al (2001), Schmertmann (2013) and Lee et al (2019) in Australia [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ], Mutlu et al (2010) in Turkey [ 15 ], Azab et al (2016) in Egypt [ 16 ], Sharif et al (2003) in Ireland [ 17 ], Tobaiqy et al (2010) in Scotland [ 18 ], Christophersen (2002) in Denmark [ 19 ], Dayasiri (2017 and 2020) in Sri Lanka [ 20 , 21 ], Mohammadi et al (2020) in Iran [ 22 ], Yehya et al (2020) and Albals et al (2020) in Jordan [ 23 , 24 ] and Ham et al (2020) in Korea [ 25 ] demonstrate the global nature and breadth of research of the problem of acute poisoning. The most frequent source of poisoning varies from country to country depending on social, economic, cultural, and educational background [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. In developed countries, the most toxic substances are medicines and household cleaning products; developing countries more frequently see kerosene and pesticides causing acute p...…”

Medicolegal Aspects of Suicidal Attempts by Drugs in Cases admitted to Poison Control Center of Ain Shams University Hospitals (2019-2020)

“…All the pandemic problems, such as positive infection diagnosis, isolation, quarantine, social distancing, the economic consequences, can trigger behavioural changes such as sadness, anxiety, fear, anger, annoyance, frustration, guilt, helplessness, loneliness, and nervousness, increasing the risk of the suicidal behaviour, and the committed suicide at homes (Crisan et al, 2021). This result is parallel to a study in Lebanon in which most attempts occurred at home (93.5%) (El-Majzoub et al, 2018) as well as 98.33% of patients in a study made in PCC in Jorden (Yehya et al, 2020).…”

Estimates of Paracetamol Poisoning in Brazil: Analysis of Official Records From 1990s to 2020

“…In addition to the consumption of different compounds with acetaminophen, easy access without a prescription, and self-medication, the concomitant use with alcohol further damages the liver function and increases the risk of unintentional poisoning ( Kane et al, 2012 ; Kjartansdottir et al, 2012 ; Hawton et al, 2019 ). In 2016, unintentional poisoning using different toxic agents caused 100,000 deaths worldwide ( WHO, 2019c ) and medicines were the main cause of admissions, mainly among adults ( Yehya et al, 2020 ).…”