title: Hospitalizations due to poisonings in Finland.
abstract: Poisonings constitute an important category of causes for admission of patients to the emergency room. The annual incidence of hospitalized poisonings in Finland over 2 years (1987-1988) was 11.7 for a population of 10,000 according to the Hospital Discharge Register; it was 8.7/10,000 for drugs and 3.0/10,000 for non-drugs. Children under 6 years of age were most frequently hospitalized because of poisoning (16.9/10,000), followed by adults aged 25-44 years (14.8/10,000). The leading causes of poisoning or chemical injury in children were undefined non-drug poisonings; plants, berries and mushrooms mistaken for edible food, and corrosives. In patients aged 6 years or more, mainly adults, the leading causes were psychotropic drugs, ethanol, and cardiovascular drugs. The pattern of poisoning has changed markedly during the 1980s; the rate of psychotropic and sedative drug poisoning admissions have increased from 35 to 47%, and poisonings due to analgesics have also increased significantly. Conversely, poisonings caused by cardiovascular drugs and antibiotics, solvent poisonings and incidents caused by corrosives have decreased significantly (p < 0.001).
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lamminpää
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Riihimäki
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vilska
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D012737:Sex Factors; D014600:Utilization Review / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*