Biomaterial Database

Epidemiology of ingestions in a regional poison control center over twenty years. 1995

J Wolfle, and S Kowalewski

Poison Control Center Bonn, Department of Pediatrics, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn, Germany.

This analysis was conducted to demonstrate the pattern and changes of potential intoxications reported to a German regional poison control center from 1974 to 1993. During this period 155,654 calls were reported of which 111,313 were analyzed. The remaining 44,341 were either of minor importance of preventive calls; 56% referred to children and 44% to adults. Substance categories most commonly implicated were drugs, with a yearly average of 37.6% of the total, followed by household articles (31.2%), plants (9.7%) and chemicals (5.9%). In pediatric cases household articles were the most frequent source of ingestion followed by drugs, plants and nutritional substances, whereas in adults drugs were followed by household articles, chemicals and pesticides. Only 13.4% of all ingestions were classified as toxic or very toxic. There were no major changes in the incidences of the different substance categories during the 20 years. However, there were some changes in the pharmaceuticals, probably due to the introduction of new drugs or the withdrawal of the OTC-status of selected drugs.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008137	Longitudinal Studies	Studies in which variables relating to an individual or group of individuals are assessed over a period of time.	Bogalusa Heart Study,California Teachers Study,Framingham Heart Study,Jackson Heart Study,Longitudinal Survey,Tuskegee Syphilis Study,Bogalusa Heart Studies,California Teachers Studies,Framingham Heart Studies,Heart Studies, Bogalusa,Heart Studies, Framingham,Heart Studies, Jackson,Heart Study, Bogalusa,Heart Study, Framingham,Heart Study, Jackson,Jackson Heart Studies,Longitudinal Study,Longitudinal Surveys,Studies, Bogalusa Heart,Studies, California Teachers,Studies, Jackson Heart,Studies, Longitudinal,Study, Bogalusa Heart,Study, California Teachers,Study, Longitudinal,Survey, Longitudinal,Surveys, Longitudinal,Syphilis Studies, Tuskegee,Syphilis Study, Tuskegee,Teachers Studies, California,Teachers Study, California,Tuskegee Syphilis Studies
D010939	Plant Poisoning	Poisoning by the ingestion of plants or its leaves, berries, roots or stalks. The manifestations in both humans and animals vary in severity from mild to life threatening. In animals, especially domestic animals, it is usually the result of ingesting moldy or fermented forage.	Poisoning, Plant,Plant Poisonings,Poisonings, Plant
D011039	Poison Control Centers	Facilities which provide information concerning poisons and treatment of poisoning in emergencies.	Centers, Poison Control,Center, Poison Control,Control Centers, Poison,Poison Control Center
D011041	Poisoning	A condition or physical state produced by the ingestion, injection, inhalation of or exposure to a deleterious agent.	Poisonings
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005517	Foodborne Diseases	Acute illnesses, usually affecting the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT, brought on by consuming contaminated food or beverages. Most of these diseases are infectious, caused by a variety of bacteria, viruses, or parasites that can be foodborne. Sometimes the diseases are caused by harmful toxins from the microbes or other chemicals present in the food. Especially in the latter case, the condition is often called food poisoning.	Food Poisoning,Food-borne Disease,Food-borne Illness,Foodborne Disease,Foodborne Illness,Food-borne Diseases,Food-borne Illnesses,Foodborne Illnesses,Poisoning, Food,Disease, Food-borne,Disease, Foodborne,Food Poisonings,Food borne Disease,Food borne Diseases,Food borne Illness,Food borne Illnesses,Illness, Food-borne,Illness, Foodborne,Illnesses, Foodborne
D005858	Germany	A country in central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, south of Denmark. The capital is Berlin.
D006795	Household Products	Substances or materials used in the course of HOUSEHOLD WORK or personal routine.	Household Supplies,Household Product,Product, Household,Products, Household,Supplies, Household