Correlation between hospitalization for pharmaceutical ingestion and attention deficit disorder in children aged 5 to 9 years old.
To determine if attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a risk factor for pharmaceutical ingestions leading to hospital admission in children between ages 5 and 9, a retrospective, case-controlled chart review was conducted at a children's hospital. Cases were children aged 5 to 9 admitted for oral ingestion of pharmaceuticals. Controls were children admitted during the same time period with abdominal pain, appendicitis, or gastroenteritis. Controls were matched to cases 3:1 by age and gender. An odds ratio was calculated to determine if attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a statistically significant risk factor for hospitalization after pharmaceutical ingestion. A total of 36% of 31 identified cases had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder compared with 7% of controls. The odds ratio for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children hospitalized after pharmaceutical ingestion was 7.97 (95% confidence interval, 2.35-28.01; P < .01). Children hospitalized for pharmaceutical ingestion are nearly 8 times more likely to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder than children hospitalized for an unrelated disorder.
Hariharan
Selena
S
Division of Emergency Medicine and Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA. selena.hariharan@chkd.org
Pomerantz
Wendy
W
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D062787:Drug Overdose; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors