Epidemiological Investigation of Poisoning in Children Hospitalized in Imam Sajjad Teaching Hospital of Yasuj During 2018-2019

Poisoning of children due to carelessness of parents is common. Half of these cases are unintentional and it is the fourth cause of death among children. The most common cause of children's poisoning is chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and household products that are made available to children due to carelessness. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine and investigate the epidemiology of poisoning in children hospitalized in Imam Sajjad Teaching Hospital of Yasuj in 2018-2019.

The present descriptive study was conducted on 348 hospitalized children due to poisoning during 2018-2019. Patient information such as age, gender, cause of poisoning, place of residence and clinical symptoms of the patients were included in the questionnaires prepared for this purpose. The required information was extracted and frequency tables and statistical charts were drawn.

348 children with poisoning were examined. 193 cases (55.5%) were males and 155 cases (44.5%) were females. The median age was 3 years. 67% of fathers had a diploma or higher education and self-employment (73.3%), and 48.9% of mothers had a diploma and 91.4% were housewives. Medicines were most commonly being oral substances, and cosmetics were the least.

Due to children's sense of curiosity and their inability to recognize possible dangers in their surroundings, it causes them to suffer more accidental poisonings. Therefore, it is recommended to educate families through social media and virtual space, in order to properly store various materials, including; Chemicals and medicines can prevent such accidents to a great extent.