Childhood Acute Poisoning at Haiphong Children’s Hospital: A 10-Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Introduction. Children are most often harmed by acute poisoning, which may cause disability or even death. This demonstrates the critical necessity for epidemiologic studies specific to each nation and area since they aid in developing plans for the prevention of acute poisoning. There are no data or outdated data on acute poisoning in children in Vietnam. This research would partly fill this existing gap and compare the trend with other places across the globe. Methods. A retrospective study was conducted in the 10-year period from 2012 to 2021 in Haiphong Children’s Hospital, Vietnam. Results. There were 771 children hospitalized due to acute poisoning. Children in the 1–5-year-old group accounted for the highest rate, at 506 (65.6%). The mean age was $4.5\pm 4.1$ years old. The male-to-female ratio was 1.2/1. Nonpharmaceutical chemicals were the most common agent in 331 cases (42.9%), including cleaning products 63 (19.0%), rat poison 60 (18.1%), and petrol 42 (12.7%). Medications were the second most common agent in 290 cases (37.6%), mostly paracetamol 60 (20.7%) and sedatives 40 (13.8%). There were 633 (82.1%) children exposed to poisons unintentionally. Conclusion. Children between the ages of 1 and 5 are more likely to be exposed to harmful substances. The most common agents were nonpharmaceutical chemicals followed by pharmaceuticals. Most incidents were inadvertent. Finally, our research may provide insights that public health authorities might use to plan practical actions.