Accidental Poisoning in Childhood at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Summary: A retrospective study of children admitted with accidental poisoning over a five-year period at the Children Emergency Room of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, was undertaken and the results were compared with those ob tained in a similar study from the same institution 20 years earlier. The results showed a decline of 52.4 percent in the overall incidence. There was also a 70.2 percent reduction in the incidence of cow's urine (CUC) poisoning although this difference was insignificant (p=0.06). There was shower however, a significant increase in the relative incidence of kerosine poisoning, from 19.8 percent to 48.7 percent over the 20-year period. Sixty one (80.3 percent) of the 76 patients who ingested kerosine were under two years of age. The present findings indicate a relative increase in household chemical poisoning as well as in kerosine ingestion by toddlers, whereas there was a marked decrease in the incidence of poisoning due to other agents.