Acute poisoning in children is commonly accidental in nature, with preventable morbidity and mortality. In the year 2004, more than 45,000 deaths of people under 20 years of age occurred due to poisoning. South-East Asia documented 1.7 fatal child poisoning cases per 100,000 population [1]. Such cases constitute 1-2% of total pediatric admissions in our country [2,3].

We analyzed hospital database for one year – from February 2015 to January 2016 with an objective to study the profile of acute poisoning in children (age <12 years) admitted in a tertiary hospital in New Delhi. Permission for conducting the study was taken from Institutional Ethical Committee. Telephonic consultation was sought from National Poisons Information Centre (NPIC), AIIMS whenever required.

During the study period, 195 children (123 boys) were hospitalized with a history of poisoning; 146 were below five years of age. Most common form of poisoning was due to ingestion of medicine (n=34, 17%). Thyroxine was the most common medicine (21%) consumed, followed by phenytoin (n=7, 15%) and benzodiazepines (n=5, 12%). Other agents of poisoning are listed given in Table I. About 79% (n=154) of the children with poisoning were discharged and 19% children (n=37) left the hospital without any intimation. Death occurred in four (2%) cases (n=4) – mostly due to the ingestion of unknown substance. All the children who died were below five years of age.

TABLE I	Agents Implicated in Childhood Poisoning in Present Study (n= 195)

For preventing poisoning with medicines, previous studies emphasized on keeping them out of reach of the children [2,6]. WHO has earlier stressed on laws mandating child-proof packaging of medicines [1]. More importantly, there is gradual rise in the number of medications present in any household at any given point of time, making toddlers vulnerable [8]. Availability of thyroxine, which is a commonly used drug by adults, in a container probably makes it easier to consume than any other drugs packed in blister packaging or supplied with child-resistant packages.

We conclude that ingestion of medicine and household products remain important causes for acute poisoning in children. Careful storage of common household products implicated in pediatric poisoning and keeping medicines in child-proof containers or under lock and key may reduce such poisoning to a great extent.

Contribution: MPR, RG, KCA: conceived the study; RG,MB: collected data; MPR, RG, MB: literature review. Manuscript was written and finalized by all the authors.

Funding: None; Competing interest: None stated.

1. WHO, UNICEF. World Report on Child Injury Prevention. World Health Organization. Geneva. 2008. p. 123-42.

2. Bhat NK, Dhar M, Ahmad S, Chandar V. Profile of poisoning in children and adolescents at a north Indian tertiary care centre. J Indian Acad Clin Med. 2012;13:37-42.

3. Gangal R, Haroon A. Profile of acute poisoning in pediatric age in district Moradabd: A hospital based study. J Indian Acad Forensic Med. 2015;37:155-9.

4. Vasanthan M, James S, Shuba S, Abhinayaa J, Sivaprakasam E. Clinical profile and outcome of poisoning in children admitted to a tertiary referral center in South India. Indian J Child Health. 2015;2:187-91.

5. Randev S, Grover N, Sharma R, Sharma H. Acute poisoning in children: seven year experience at a tertiary care hospital of north India. Curr Pediatr Res. 2011;15:65-8.

6. Kohli U, Kuttiat VS, Lodha R, Kabra SK. Profile of childhood poisoning patients at a tertiary care centre in north India. Indian J Pediatr. 2008;75:791-4.

7. American Academy of Pediatrics. Poison Prevention and Treatment Tips: National Poison Prevention Week. March 20-26, 2016. Available from: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/news-features-and-safety-tips/pages/poison-prevention-and-treatment-tips-.aspx?nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-000 0-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR:+No+ local+token. Accessed August 16, 2016.