TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - Childhood poisoning during the COVID-19 pandemic
JO  - Turkish archives of pediatrics
A1  - Salman, Hakan
A1  - Salman, Zeliha
A1  - Akçam, Mustafa
SP  - 268
EP  - 273
VL  - 58
IS  - 3
N2  - OBJECTIVE: To determine changes caused by the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the children admitted to our hospital because of poisoning during the pandemic and comparing these with data from a study conducted in the pre-pandemic period. <br><br>MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective examination was made of children who were admitted to our pediatric emergency department with poisoning between March 2020 and March 2022. <br><br>RESULTS: Of the 82 (0.7%) patients admitted to the emergency department, 42 (51.2%) were girls, the mean age was 6.43 ± 5.62 years, and the majority of children (59.8%) were under 5 years of age. The poisonings were determined to be accidental in 85.4% of cases, 13.4% were suicide attempts, and 1.2% were iatrogenic. Poisonings occurred most frequently (97.6%) at home and most frequently (85.4%) by digestive tract. The most common causative agent (68%) was non-pharmacological agents. Caustic-corrosive substances were determined in 39% of cases, medical drugs in 32%, toxic gases in 11%, alcohol (hand sanitizers) in 8.5%, insecticide-pesticide in 6.1%, food in 1.2%, and animal bites in 1.2%. Compared to the study conducted in our hospital in 2013-2014, the difference in terms of factors causing poisoning was statistically significant (P <.001). Of the current study cases, 14 (17.1%) were followed up in the intensive care unit, and no mortality developed. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The period of the COVID-19 pandemic was seen to cause an increase in poisoning rates with caustic-corrosive substances, alcohol (hand disinfectants), and toxic gases. Families should be made aware of this issue and take special precautions.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2757-6256
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.5152/TurkArchPediatr.2023.22247
ID  - ref1
ER  -