Epidemiological Data of Human Poisoning in Taiwan, 1985-1993

C. C. Yang ； S. C. Hung ； C. H. Sa ； S. S. Chen ； J. F. Deng

《Epidemiology Bulletin》 11卷6期 (1995/06) Pp. 81-98

https://doi.org/10.6525/TEB.199506_11(6).0001

並列摘要

Taiwan National Poison center, since its establishment in July 1985, has received more than 30,000 telephone calls. However, there is little epidemiological data available on those calls. In an attempt to obtain more information about poisoning exposures in Taiwan, a retrospective study was conducted.
Data from all telephones calls concerning human poisoning exposures retrieved from July 1985 through December 1993m by the PCC-Taiwan were analyzed. The following data fields were reviewed: age, sex, reason of exposure, route of exposure, substances ingested and clinical severity of those poisoning exposure victims.
During the period of 1985-1993, 23,436 telephone calls concerning human poisoning exposure were recorded. Adults accounted for most cases (75.2%) and exposures involving male were somewhat more prevalent than female poisoning exposures (54.2% vs. 44.7%). Intentional poisoning exposures were more common than unintentional poisoning exposures (54.6% vs. 40.1%), revealing an inverse relationship with pediatric poisoning exposures. Those victims aged below 7 years and those aged between 19-39 years, constituted the highest risk group in human poisoning exposure (62% of all cases). Most human poisoning exposure victims were poisoned by the oral route and excluding amphetamines, the most frequently ingested poisons were pesticides, benzodiazepines, and cleaning products. Fatalities occurred most frequently following ingestion of pesticides and the mortality rate was 5.7% for all exposures.
Human poisoning remains a serious problem in Taiwan. With pesticides being the most common offending agents, control of the wide availability and a decrease in the use of pesticides are warranted as efforts to aid in the prevention of further serious poisoning. Reduction of suicide attempts by psychiatric consultation or other necessary means is also of major concern, since most cases are intentionally poisoned.

並列關鍵字

epidemiological data ； human poisoning ； pesticide