Aims. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological characteristics of the cases of fatal poisoning in Mali.
METHODS. This retrospective study examined the cases of fatal poisoning recorded between 2000 and 2010 in six Health Reference centers, six regional hospitals and three university hospitals in the district of Bamako.
RESULTS. During the study period, 146 cases of fatal poisoning were recorded, accounting for 4.6% of all poisoning cases during this period. The average age of patients who died was 24 ± 17.7 years with a female-male ratio of 1.05. Nearly half (43%) were younger than 20 years. The ingestion was intentional in 66.4% of cases, mainly suicide attempts (47%) and therapeutic errors (19%). The median time until arrival at hospital was 8 hours after poisoning with multiple and varied clinical signs.
CONCLUSIONS. Decreasing the mortality rate from poison ingestion requires increasing public awareness about poisons and improving emergency service equipment and health personnel training.