title: Hospital admissions due to acute poisoning in the New Territories, Hong Kong.
abstract: To study the pattern of acute poisoning in the New Territories East of Hong Kong, 291 adult cases admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital in 1989 were reviewed. The female-to-male ratio was 2.3 to 1 and the majority of patients (83%) were below the age of 40. The main poisons involved were hypnotics and sedatives (44.3%), household products (14.8%) and analgesics (10%). The poisoning was intentional in the majority of cases (98.6%). A specific antidote was necessary in 5.2% of cases. Four patients died after admission giving an overall mortality of 1.4%. When compared to the findings from other western countries, important variations in the pattern of acute poisoning were seen in Hong Kong. Firstly, a substantial proportion of drugs ingested were not dispensed labeled although their nature could usually be determined. Secondly, "Dettol", a household antiseptic, was commonly used in self-poisoning episodes. The lack of drug identification labeling on dispensed medicines outside hospitals is of great concern to all physicians in Hong Kong.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT.
authors.forename: T Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Critchley
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000453:epidemiology; D004630:Emergencies; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies