title: Ten years of latrogenic intoxications from the Spanish poison control center.
abstract: Iatrogenic incidents involving drugs are the main type of nosocomial intoxications reported to the Spanish Poison Control Center. We examined 231 such incidences from January 1991 to December 2000; 46.1% were route errors, 42.4% overdoses and 7.3% administration to the wrong patient. The most important cause of error in hospitals and dentist consults was route confusions and overdoses in primary health care units. In 56.2% of the dose errors the patient was a child < 2y old in a pediatric inpatient setting, involving the iv route; the common administered drugs were anti-infectives, anticoagulants, analgesics and sedatives. Poison Control Centers have an important role in the prevention of iatrogenic intoxications.
authors.affiliation: Spanish Poison Control Centre, Instituto Nacional de Toxicología, C/ Luis Cabrera 9, 28002 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Salomé
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ballesteros
authors.forename: Fátima
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ramón
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martínez-Arrieta
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Larrotcha
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cabrera
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000700:Analgesics / Q000506:poisoning*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000506:poisoning*; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000506:poisoning*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003813:Dentistry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000506:poisoning*; D007049:Iatrogenic Disease; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008508:Medication Errors; D008875:Middle Aged; D011039:Poison Control Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000925:Anticoagulants; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives