~fit.,% ,l'di41,, 40: 6], 1979

ACCIDENTAL P O I S O N I N G IN CHILDHOOD* S K. TAK, B. BHANDARI,A.M. JAtN ^NV P. BHAX,'DARI

Udaipur Accidental. poisoning has always been a prolem in paediatric practice. It further derives importance because in most of the cases it is preventable. In India its incidence is high but it is overshadowed by malnutrition, infectious diseases and tuberculosis. The incidence and causes of accidenfal poisoning varies considerably from place to place, time to time, living conditions, habits, socio-r and educatio.,al statuS of the people. Data on accid ~ m l poisoning are particularly helpful In dellneating preventive measures and for health educauon. Thus the present work was conducted to study the incidence, pattern and clinical picture of the cases of acddental poisoning admitted to the paedlatric service in tile General Hospital,

1 to 6. There were 2667 total admissions from January, 1977 to December, 1977 out of which accidental poisoning accounted for 61 cases (2.28~

Discussion Tile overall incidence of accidental poisoning in the present series was 2.28%. Figures from different authors vary from 0.8% (Mukherjee ,tal. 1959) to 7.60% (Buhariwalla 1969). Our figures are nearer to Ghosh's (1962) 23%, Khatri (,1968) 2 05% and Talii '(1973) 3 6%. Nearly, nfty (47.45%) were from the 1-3 year-agegroup. This is the age when the child is mobile, explores, and because of an exaggerated oral tendency may poison himself. (Craig 1955). Males outnumbered ~.he females (63.93%: 3666%), perhaps, because Udaipur. of their over activity Eighty per cent of cases were from the low socio-economic Material and Method status (grade IV and V). The factors The study includes sixty-one cases of responsible were illiteracy, neglect of the accidental poisoning admitted to the children, large family and overcrowding paediatric service in the General Hospital, and objects lying indiscriminately i n the Udaipur from January, 1977 to December, house. In the present series, seed poisoning 1977. Trivial and asymptomatic cases not headed the list wittl 42.6% of cases out of admitted to the ward are excluded. which 39.34% cases were of Rata, jyol (jTatropha curcas) 'poisoning. Reran jyot is Observations a common medicinal plant in this region of The data obtained are shown in Tables India and tastes and looks like groundnut. Only a tew workers like Bhandari (1970), ~From the Department of Paediatric% R.N.T. Medical Pohowalla (1969), Manchanda (!960) and College, Udaipur-313001. Paper read at V Annual Conference of Indian Mukherji (1959). have reported poisoning Academy of Paediatrics (Rajasthan btate Branch) from this seed. Out of 24 cases of_ Rata, November, 1977. jyot, 65.38% were more than 3 years Received on February 9, 1978

62

VOL. 46, NO. 373

I:.:t~IANJOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS

Table I. Age diJtti'butlon. Age in years

Total number

Percentage

of c a s e s 0--1

12

19.67

1--3

29

47.54

3--5

10

16.39

10

16.39

Above 5

Table 2. Sex distTzoution. i

i

i

l

Male

39

63.93

Female

22

36.66

|

T a b l e 3.

Grade

I

No. of cases

--

Distribution according to socio.sconomic status (Prasad B.G. 1970)

Per c a p i t a income Rs.

Percen tage

3 0 0 a n d above 150 -- 299

4.9

II

3

III

9

70 - -

149

14.75

IV

28

30 --

69

45.90

V

2L

Accidental poisoning in childhood.

~fit.,% ,l'di41,, 40: 6], 1979 ACCIDENTAL P O I S O N I N G IN CHILDHOOD* S K. TAK, B. BHANDARI,A.M. JAtN ^NV P. BHAX,'DARI Udaipur Accidental. pois...
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