Retrospective Evaluation of Intoxication Cases Followed in Pediatric Intensive Care: A 5-Year Experience

Introduction: This study was designed to investigate the demographic, epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of cases admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) with a diagnosis of intoxication.Methods: Inpatient intoxication cases who were treated in the PICU between May 2015 and May 2020 were analyzed retrospectively.Results: A total of 86 patients were included in the study.The average age was 10.8 ± 6.4 years and 53.5% of the cases were aged between 13-18 years.In terms of gender, 48.8% of the cases were male.Almost half of the (53.5%) intoxications occurred due to attempted suicide, 39.6% were accidental, 4.6% were due to substance abuse and 2.3% were due to incorrect drug dosage.Pharmaceutical agents were responsible for intoxication in the majority (79.1%) of patients, and among these, central nervous system (CNS) drugs were the most common (41.8%).Carbon monoxide poisoning was the most common nonpharmaceutical agent cause (8.1%).The agents that caused the intoxication were taken orally in 91.8% of cases.The average time from consumption to admission was 239±423.9minutes.Gastric lavage was applied to 41.9% of the cases and activated charcoal was applied to 44.1%.Mechanical ventilation support was given to 32.6% of the patients.The most common findings were CNS symptoms (in 54.6% of patients).The mean length of stay (LOS) in PICU was 4.3±6.7 days and LOS in the hospital was 5.8±7.1 days.Mortality rate was 1.2%.Discussion and Conclusion: Knowing the epidemiology of intoxication is of great importance for rapid and correct treatment.Multicenter comprehensive studies are needed to reveal risk factors related to mortality.