Epidemiologic profile and triggering factors of voluntary poisoning in teenagers.
Self-poisoning is an important medical and social problem in adolescents.We performed an observational cross-sectional retrospective study on a group of 219 adolescents admitted for voluntary intoxications at "St. Mary" Children's Emergency Hospital, Iasi during 1 year period. Epidemiological aspects and triggering factors have been analyzed. Data collected from the patients' files were centralized in an SPSS 18.0 database and processed with confidence interval of 95%.We found that pharmaceutical drugs have been usually involved (34.7%), mostly in girls (56.3% vs. 15.5%; P = 0.0001). The most frequently cited reason for poisoning was family conflict, with a relative risk (RR) 1.43 times higher in girls, as well as scholar conflict (RR = 1.39). A great percentage of the monitored girls presented severe depression (23.3% vs. 6.9%; P = 0.001), with an RR more than 3 times higher than in the case of boys. All cases evolved favorably, no death having been recorded, even if 18 teenagers initially presented an extremely serious condition, being admitted in various stages of coma (Glasgow coma scale score < 8).We found that self-inflicted poisonings with pharmaceutical drugs was more common in girls and the use of drug and alcohol intoxication was found especially in boys. The most common pharmaceutical drug involved in self-poisoning was acetaminophen. Psychological disorders and family or school conflicts are the most important triggering factors of voluntary poisoning. Risk factors should be identified after stabilizing the patient, and actions should be taken in order to prevent a fatal recurrence.
Pediatrics Department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Grigore T. Popa" "St. Mary" Children Emergency Hospital, Iasi, Romania.
Nicolai
N
Nistor
Cristina
C
Jitareanu
Otilia Elena
OE
Frasinariu
Irina Mihaela
IM
Ciomaga
Aniela Luminita
AL
Rugina
Violeta
V
Streanga
D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*