Causes of acute poisoning in hospitalized adolescents in Gorgan

Acute poisonings in adolescents – a common worldwide problem- is a preventable cause morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the causes of acute poisoning in hospitalized adolescents in Gorgan.
This cross-sectional study was conducted on all adolescents (aged 12-19) patients admitted for acute poisoning who are hospitalized in 5 Azar Hospital in Gorgan, during March 2008 to March 2015. Data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 16) and Pearson's chi-squared test.
A total of 800 poisoning cases, 161 cases were due to adolescent poisonings. The majority of the 161 patients were female (59%). The mean age of them were 16.98 years and the majority of patients (73.9%) lived in urban areas. The maximum number of poisoning occurred during autumn (29.2%) and summer season (28%). 64.5% of cases had been educated up to high school. Intentional poisoning (suicide) were identified as the main kind of poisoning (90.7%). The most common agents involved in acute poisoning were drugs (85.1%), especially benzodiazepines (31.1%), followed by Tramadol (19.3%). Overall, 5 patients (3.1%) died and family quarrel was the main cause of intentional poisoning (64.4%).
Intentional poisoning by pharmaceutical agents especially benzodiazepines and Tramadol were identified as the main cause of poisoning in adolescents in Gorgan. Finally, preventive measures should include life skills training, providing readily available counseling services and restricting the reach of drugs.