title: Intentional and unintentional poisoning in Pakistan: a pilot study using the Emergency Departments surveillance project.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acute poisoning is one of the most common reasons for emergency department visits around the world. In Pakistan, the epidemiological data on poisoning is limited due to an under developed poison information surveillance system. We aim to describe the characteristics associated with intentional and unintentional poisoning in Pakistan presenting to emergency departments.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data was extracted from the Pakistan National Emergency Department Surveillance (Pak-NEDS) which was an active surveillance conducted between November 2010 and March 2011. All patients, regardless of age, who presented with poisoning to any of Pakistan's seven major tertiary care centers' emergency departments, were included. Information about patient demographics, type of poisoning agent, reason for poisoning and outcomes were collected using a standard questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Acute poisoning contributed to 1.2% (n = 233) of patients with intentional and unintentional injuries presenting to EDs of participating centers. Of these, 68% were male, 54% were aged 19 to 44 and 19% were children and adolescents (<18 years). Types of poisoning included chemical/gas (43.8%), drug/medicine (27%), alcohol (16.7%) and food/plant (6%). In half of all patients the poisoning was intentional. A total of 11.6% of the patients were admitted and 6.6% died.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Poisoning causes more morbidity and mortality in young adults in Pakistan compared to other age groups, half of which is intentional. Improving mental health, regulatory control for hazardous chemicals and better access to care through poison information centers and emergency departments will potentially help control the problem.
authors.forename: Nadeem
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pérez-Núñez
authors.forename: Nudrat
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shamim
authors.forename: Uzma
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.forename: Naureen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Naseer
authors.forename: Asher
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Feroze
authors.forename: Junaid
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Razzak
authors.forename: Adnan A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hyder
mesh_terms: D000059:Accidents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000552:Ambulances / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010154:Pakistan / Q000453:epidemiology; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult