Emergency department visits due to pesticide poisoning in South Korea, 2006-2009.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to estimate the numbers and rate of emergency department visits in South Korea that are the result of pesticide poisoning and to describe their epidemiologic characteristics.


METHODS
Data collected from the National Emergency Department Information System were used to estimate the number of emergency department visits due to pesticide poisoning in South Korea for the period spanning 2006 through 2009. Emergency department visits for pesticide poisoning were defined by ICD-10 codes (T60.0-T60.9). National estimates and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated per 100 000 population.


RESULTS
Among the 65 877 total poisoning-related emergency department visits in the data, 11 985 (18.2%) were emergency department visits resulting from pesticide poisoning. During the study period, the annual average rate of emergency department visits for pesticide poisoning was 26.8 per 100 000 population. Intentional pesticide poisoning (51.4%) was more frequent than unintentional. The fatality rate from intentional pesticide poisoning was also higher than that from unintentional or cases where the intention was unknown. In terms of age-specific rates of emergency department visits for pesticide poisoning, they increased with age, as did the gap between men and women.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provide estimates for emergency department visits due to pesticide poisoning at the national level and suggests that pesticide poisonings, both intentional and unintentional, require significant public health interventions in South Korea.
Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Yousun
Y
Ko
Hyun Joong
HJ
Kim
Eun Shil
ES
Cha
Jaeyoung
J
Kim
Won Jin
WJ
Lee
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010575:Pesticides / Q000506:poisoning*; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors
D010575:Pesticides