Abstract

MASOT RANGEL, Antonio; FONSECA HERNANDEZ, Mercedes; RODRIGUEZ HERRERA, Eidis  and  CORONA MARTINEZ, Luis A.. Morbidity from acute poisonings at the Pediatric Hospital of Cienfuegos from 1996 to 2000 . Rev Cubana Pediatr [online]. 2004, vol.76, n.3, pp. 0-0. ISSN 1561-3119.

A descriptive, retrospective and serial study was conducted among patients under 15 discharged from the Pediatric Hospital of Cienfuegos with the diagnosis of acute poisoning aimed at determining the behavior of some clinical and epidemiological variables. The sample was composed of 609 patients discharged with this diagnosis from 1996 to 2000. The following variables were taken from the medical histories and analized in all cases: age, sex, origin of the poisoning, place of occurrence, etiological agent, route, level of medical attention received and complications. 53 % of the acute poisonings took place at ages up to 4 years old. In this group, 58.2 % were males. Among those over 10, it was observed a clear prevalence of females (78.3 %). Accidental poisonings occurred in 77.8 % of the total of patients, but from 10 years old on, there was a predominance of the intentional origin (67.3 %). The results were statistically significant. It was proved the relation existing between the age at poisoning, the sex and the intentional or acccidental origin of the event in the studied population.

Keywords : Poisoning [epidemiology]; child.