title: Profile of hospital admissions following acute poisoning from a major teaching hospital in North India.
abstract: A retrospective analysis of 584 cases of acute poisoning admitted with a medical emergency to the Department of Medicine, GTB Hospital, Delhi, over a three-year period. The patients were analysed with respect to the age, sex, mode of poisoning, type of poison consumed and mortality. Of these, 42.63% were aged 20-30 years. Poisoning was used as a suicidal agent by 63.8% of the patients. The nature of the poison could not be ascertained in 15.92% of patients. Sedatives were involved in 13.36%. Aluminium phosphide poisoning was found in 11.82%. The overall mortality was estimated to be 13.18% with 53.2% being caused by the consumption of aluminium phosphide. There has been a change in the nature of poisons consumed and the number of cases of aluminium phosphide poisoning is declining. However, aluminium phosphide poisoning still remains a major threat as it carries a high mortality rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University College of Medical Sciences, C57/Y3, Dilshad Garden, Delhi 110095, India. alpanaraizada@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Alpana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raizada
authors.forename: Om Prakash
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Kalra
authors.forename: Ambar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khaira
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yadav
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017607:Aluminum Compounds / Q000506:poisoning; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000506:poisoning; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010720:Phosphines / Q000506:poisoning; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D017607:Aluminum Compounds; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D010720:Phosphines; C001864:aluminum phosphide