A profile of acute self drug poisoning: Our experience in a tertiary care medical college teaching hospital
Journal Title: International Journal of Biomedical and Advance Research - Year 2016, Vol 7, Issue 8
Abstract
Background:Drug overdose can be accidental or deliberate posing a significant source of morbidity, mortality and health care burden. Drug over doses may be seen at any age and is particularly common among teenagers. It is estimated that approximately 2-3 million drug poisonings occur every year in the united states. In India the true incidence of self drugpoisoning is unknown due to under diagnosis and under reporting. Acute self drug poisoning is mostly due to benzodiazepines, antidepressants, antiepileptics and polypills containing NSAIDs. There is scarcity of data from the Indian subcontinent regarding the profile and outcome of patients presenting with acute self drug poisoning. We undertook this retrospective analysis to assess the course and outcome of such patients admitted in our tertiary care teaching hospital. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted between Jan 2008- Dec 2011 in the dept of medicine, Sri DevarajUrs Medical College,Kolar. The data retrieved from the medical records section was analyzed for 155 patients who were admitted with acute self poisoning for, type of poisoning, time of presentation, reason for the consumption of drugs, ICU admission if required and outcomes. Results:The majority were females 103 (66.4%) patients and 52 were males and majority 90 (58 %) of admissions were from age group 21 to 30 years. The most common drugs consumed was benzodiazepines 54(34.8%), followed by antiepileptics 41(26.4%), and poypills 33(21.3). Thirty (19.4%) consumed two or more drugs. Commonest cause for drug consumption was suicidal (90%), and was mainly oral. The highest incidence of toxicity was due to benzodiazipines (34.8%) followed by antiepileptics (26.4%). Ten patients(15.5%) required ICU management for ventilatory support and average stay was seven days. None of our patients in the study required ionotropes or dialysis. Conclusions: The present data is an insight of the trends in self drug poisoning in rural south India as a result of low socioeconomic status, illiteracy and easy availability of drugs over the counter. Therefore strict regulations enforced on the medical drug outlets with mental health awareness counselling/programmes can go a long way in curtailing this problem.
Authors and Affiliations
Kumar Shrinivasan
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP366643
- DOI 10.7439/ijbar.v7i8.3521
- Views 77
- Downloads 0
Structured group discussion versus problem based learning a comparison in Medical Education
We compared the Problem based learning tool to our proposed Structured Group Discussion. Methodology employed was students were divided into two groups equally. 50 each students were chosen for the study for each group....
Evaluating the Effect of Nutritional Supplementation Combined with Counseling on Nutritional Recovery in Immune-Compromised Indian Children
Background: Malnutrition in an HIV-infected child leads to muscle wasting, micronutrient deficiency, impaired immune system and reduced ability to fight infections. It also increases the susceptibility to infections due...
Brief overview on dengue viral disease
Dengue is an arthropod-borne flavivirus belongs to Flaviviridae family and it comprises of four serotypes i.e. DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4. Laboratory diagnosis of this disease can be executed by various commercial...
Impact of Acute Lethal and Chronic Sublethal toxicity of Phorate on Succinate Dehydrogenase activity in the Fresh Water Fish Cyprinus carpio
The present study is aimed to investigate the acute and chronic toxicity stress of phorate, induced alterations in the activity levels of Succinate Dehydrogenase (SDH), a vital enzyme of citric acid cycle that catalyses...
Analytical study to assess maternal outcome in booked and unbooked obstetric cases
Background: The high maternal morbidity and mortality rates are indicators of the poor state of health services and it is pertinent to determine the relationship between the booking status of mother and maternal outcomes...