Aetiological and demographical characteristics of acute poisoning in the Celje region, Slovenia.
BACKGROUND
Data on emergency treatment of poisonings are scarce.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the annual rate of poisoning-related emergency medical services (EMS) interventions and to determine the aetiology and demographic characteristics of poisoning cases.


METHODS
A prospective observational study included all poisoning-related intervention cases over 3 years (1999-2001) in the Celje region, Slovenia, covering 125 000 inhabitants. Data were recorded on an EMS form.


RESULTS
Two hundred and forty-four poisoning-related EMS interventions were recorded among a total of 4486 interventions (5.4%) corresponding to an average annual rate of 0.56 poisonings per 1000 inhabitants per year. Psychoactive agents were detected in 56.5% of the cases. Two-thirds of the poisonings took place outside patients' home. In 30% of the cases, the administration of poison was because of suicidal intentions. The most common substance ingested was alcohol alone or in combination with prescription or illegal drugs in 42.6% of cases, followed by drugs alone or in combination with alcohol in 39.2% cases. More than one-fifth of the poisonings were because of the use of illegal drugs. At the time of the arrival of EMS 23.5% of the patients were in coma. EMS applied antidote in 23.2% of the patients. After emergency care, 9.3% of the patients were still in coma, 15.6% were comatose, 26.6% were somnolent, 18.6% were disoriented and 30% had complete consciousness. Of these, 84.4% of the patients were admitted to hospital or specialized care and 15.6% were sent back home.


CONCLUSIONS
The pattern of poisoning is contrasted with that in other countries. The EMS proved to be a valuable resource for treatment of acute poisoning.
Department of Family Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Tonka
T
Poplas-Susic
Marija
M
Komericki-Grzinic
Zalika
Z
Klemenc-Ketis
Ksenija
K
Tusek-Bunc
Erika
E
Zelko
Janko
J
Kersnik
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000506:poisoning; D002648:Child; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017524:Slovenia / Q000453:epidemiology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology