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Annals of the New York Academy of... Aug 2014Poisons have long been used to kill wildlife throughout the world. An evolution has occurred from the use of plant- and animal-based toxins to synthetic pesticides to... (Review)
Review
Poisons have long been used to kill wildlife throughout the world. An evolution has occurred from the use of plant- and animal-based toxins to synthetic pesticides to kill wildlife, a method that is silent, cheap, easy, and effective. The use of pesticides to poison wildlife began in southern Africa, and predator populations were widely targeted and eliminated. A steep increase has recently been observed in the intensity of wildlife poisonings, with corresponding population declines. However, the majority of poisonings go unreported. Under national laws, it is illegal to hunt wildlife using poisons in 83% of African countries. Pesticide regulations are inadequate, and enforcement of existing legislation is poor. Few countries have forensic field protocols, and most lack storage and testing facilities. Methods used to poison wildlife include baiting carcasses, soaking grains in pesticide solution, mixing pesticides to form salt licks, and tainting waterholes. Carbofuran is the most widely abused pesticide in Africa. Common reasons for poisoning are control of damage-causing animals, harvesting fish and bushmeat, harvesting animals for traditional medicine, poaching for wildlife products, and killing wildlife sentinels (e.g., vultures because their aerial circling alerts authorities to poachers' activities). Populations of scavengers, particularly vultures, have been decimated by poisoning. Recommendations include banning pesticides, improving pesticide regulations and controlling distribution, better enforcement and stiffer penalties for offenders, increasing international support and awareness, and developing regional pesticide centers.
Topics: Africa; Animals; Animals, Wild; Conservation of Natural Resources; History, 20th Century; Pesticides; Poisons
PubMed: 24716788
DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12405 -
CJEM Mar 2024
Topics: Humans; Acetylcysteine; Acetaminophen; Poisons; Drug Overdose; Administration, Oral; Poisoning
PubMed: 38358643
DOI: 10.1007/s43678-024-00660-0 -
Pediatric Emergency Care Aug 2022
Topics: Adolescent; Eating; Humans; New Jersey; Poison Control Centers; Poisoning; Poisons; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 35904960
DOI: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002796 -
Clinical Pediatrics Oct 2022Pediatric morbidity due to unintentional poison exposure is a significant burden on public health. We prospectively characterize patterns of unintentional poison...
Pediatric morbidity due to unintentional poison exposure is a significant burden on public health. We prospectively characterize patterns of unintentional poison exposure in a single pediatric emergency department, using a detailed computerized questionnaire for all unintentional injuries admitted during 2009 to 2017. Out of 71,765 visits due to unintentional injuries, 252 children were admitted due to unintentional poison exposure. Most (198/252, 79%) were between 1 and 3 years of age. The majority of events (209/252, 82.9%) occurred at the patient's home and 81% (205/255) were classified as exploratory ingestion. In 41/252 (14%) cases, exposure to more than one substance was reported. Most events 231/293 (79%) involved medications and 21% were due to domestic products. Four medications account for 45% of the events (Paracetamol, Salbutamol, Antihypertensive, and Antidepressants). Opioids were responsible for only 1.7%. By, collaboration between government, public health, educational institutions and commercial companies, can the burden of pediatric unintentional poison exposure be reduced.
Topics: Child; Emergency Service, Hospital; Humans; Poison Control Centers; Poisoning; Poisons; Prospective Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 35673846
DOI: 10.1177/00099228221094127 -
BMJ Open Aug 2018Up-to-date information on the patterns of acute poisoning is crucial for the proper management of poisoning events. The objectives of this study were to analyse the...
OBJECTIVES
Up-to-date information on the patterns of acute poisoning is crucial for the proper management of poisoning events. The objectives of this study were to analyse the characteristics of patients suffering from acute poisoning admitted to the emergency department (ED) in a tertiary medical centre in Northeast China and to compare these characteristics with those of a previous comparable study.
DESIGN
Retrospective and descriptive study.
SETTING
Data were collected from the hospital information system in Shengjing Hospital, China, from January 2012 to December 2016.
PARTICIPANTS
All cases aged ≥11 years old with a diagnosis of acute poisoning.
RESULTS
In total, 5009 patients aged ≥11 years presented to the ED with acute poisoning during the study period. The average age of the patients was 36.0±15.1 years and over half (52.7%) were in the 20-39age group. The female to male ratio was 1.2:1. Patients with acute poisoning mainly lived in rural areas rather than in urban areas. The majority of patients consumed poison as suicide attempts (56.7%). Men were more commonly poisoned by drug abuse than women, but women outnumbered men in suicidal poisoning. The most common form of poison intake was ingestion (oral intake; 86.2%). The five most common toxic agent groups, in descending order, were therapeutic drugs (32.6%), pesticides (26.9%), alcohol (20.7%), fumes/gases/vapours (11.4%) and chemicals (3.6%). Sedatives/hypnotics in the therapeutic drugs group and paraquat in the pesticides group were the most common toxic agents, respectively. The mortality rate of study participants was 1.3%, with 64 deaths.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study indicate the need to strengthen education on the rational and safe use of drugs in Shenyang.
Topics: Accidents; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; China; Drug Overdose; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions; Emergency Service, Hospital; Environmental Exposure; Ethanol; Female; Foodborne Diseases; Gases; Hospitals; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Pesticides; Poisoning; Poisons; Retrospective Studies; Substance-Related Disorders; Suicide, Attempted; Tertiary Care Centers; Young Adult
PubMed: 30158226
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021881 -
The Pan African Medical Journal 2021intentional poisoning is a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries. The purpose of this study is to describe the epidemiological features...
INTRODUCTION
intentional poisoning is a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries. The purpose of this study is to describe the epidemiological features of criminal intoxication in Morocco.
METHOD
we conducted a retrospective study of all cases of criminal intoxication identified by the Morocco Poison Control and Pharmacovigilance Centre (MPCPC) between 1980 and 2014.
RESULTS
during the study period, 611 cases of criminal poisoning were recorded, reflecting a rate of 2.1% of all intentional poisoning reported during the same period. The average age of intoxicated patients was 26.4±14.3 years. More than a quarter of the subjects were children under the age of 15 (28.6%). According to the study results, 55.9% were male, with a sex-ratio (M/F) of 1.3. The majority of cases (89.4%) occurred in urban areas. Collective intoxications were reported in 24.4% of cases. The most frequently used products were pesticides (19.1%) and plants (19%). Patients developed different symptoms based on the toxic substances used, the amount ingested and the time elapsed before treatment. A range of digestive, neurological, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders were reported. Out of 440 patients with outcome data available, 27 died. The remainder of patients survived with or without sequelae.
CONCLUSION
criminal poisoning is a major issue. The number of cases is probably underestimated due to a large number of undiagnosed or unreported cases.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; Child, Preschool; Crime; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Morocco; Pesticides; Pharmacovigilance; Plant Poisoning; Poison Control Centers; Poisoning; Poisons; Retrospective Studies; Young Adult
PubMed: 33854671
DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2021.38.42.27450 -
Clinical Toxicology (Philadelphia, Pa.) Apr 2022Mortality prediction in paraquat poisoning is a major issue since most prediction rules are inapplicable if the exact ingestion time cannot be determined and/or the... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
CONTEXT
Mortality prediction in paraquat poisoning is a major issue since most prediction rules are inapplicable if the exact ingestion time cannot be determined and/or the serum paraquat concentration is not readily available, as in most countries. Therefore, we aimed to develop and validate a new prediction rule not requiring these two parameters.
METHODS
We designed a 10-year observational cohort study including all consecutive paraquat-poisoned patients managed in two Taiwanese hospitals. We built one cohort to define and one cohort to validate this prediction rule. Parameters independently related to mortality determined using a multivariate analysis were used to formulate the Acute Paraquat Poisoning Mortality (APPM) score.
RESULTS
Overall, 321 paraquat-poisoned patients were included, 156 in the derivation and 165 in the validation cohort. Mortality rates in the derivation and validation cohorts were 73% and 81%, respectively ( = 0.20). The three parameters chosen of 28-day mortality at presentation were urine paraquat level >10 ppm (using a colorimetric sodium dithionite-based test; odds ratio (OR), 12.70; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.64-61.24), white blood cells >13.0 G/L (OR, 5.50; CI, 1.41-21.48) and blood glucose >140 mg/dL [7.8 mmol/L] (OR, 7.45; CI, 1.70-32.86). In the derivation cohort, the area under the ROC curve (AUC-ROC) of the APPM score did not significantly differ from AUC-ROCs of serum paraquat (0.95, = 0.25) and the Severity Index of Paraquat Poisoning (0.95, = 0.33). AUC-ROCs of the APPM score in the derivation and validation cohorts were 0.91 and 0.94, respectively.
CONCLUSION
We built and validated a reliable score to predict 28-day mortality in paraquat-poisoned patients at presentation, independently from the ingestion time and serum paraquat measurement.
Topics: Area Under Curve; Humans; Paraquat; Poisoning; Poisons; Prognosis; Retrospective Studies
PubMed: 34543159
DOI: 10.1080/15563650.2021.1979234 -
JAMA Jul 1975
Topics: Adult; Age Factors; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antidotes; Child, Preschool; Diuresis; Emergencies; Exchange Transfusion, Whole Blood; Humans; Infant; Peritoneal Dialysis; Poisoning; Poisons; Posture
PubMed: 1173654
DOI: No ID Found -
Scientific Reports Oct 2022The aim of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics of patients based on the poison chosen and different types of organophosphorus compounds....
The aim of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics of patients based on the poison chosen and different types of organophosphorus compounds. The data were collected to explore the sociodemographic characteristics of organophosphate (OP)-poisoned patients based on the source, site, and route of poisoning, education level, occupational status, and the purpose of poisoning. Furthermore, we estimated the serotonin and dopamine levels in the plasma samples of patients, and survival plots were also described. During the study of OP pesticide poisoning in 116 human subjects and 5 healthy volunteers, we observed, based on the survival plot, that75.9% of the patients were discharged, and the remaining patients died (24.1% of the patients) due to respiratory failure followed by cardiac arrest. Our findings suggest that the serotonin levels significantly (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001) decreased from 12 to 36 h, whereas the dopamine levels slightly increased from 12 to 36 h in the group with OP poisoning compared to the control group. Based on these findings, this study may aid in deciphering the precise mechanism by which pesticides cause behavioural changes that influence serotonin and dopamine levels in OP-poisoned patients. The purpose of this work was to serve as a small reminder of the risk to public health associated with organophosphate pesticides.
Topics: Dopamine; Humans; Insecticides; Neurotransmitter Agents; Organophosphate Poisoning; Organophosphates; Organophosphorus Compounds; Pesticides; Poisons; Serotonin
PubMed: 36192626
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-21054-1 -
Clinical Toxicology (Philadelphia, Pa.) Oct 2023This is the 40 Annual Report of America's Poison Centers National Poison Data System (NPDS). As of 1 January, 2022, all 55 of the nation's poison centers (PCs) uploaded...
INTRODUCTION
This is the 40 Annual Report of America's Poison Centers National Poison Data System (NPDS). As of 1 January, 2022, all 55 of the nation's poison centers (PCs) uploaded case data automatically to NPDS. The upload interval was 4.72 [4.40, 9.27] (median [25%, 75%]) minutes, effectuating a near real-time national exposure and information database and surveillance system.
METHODS
We analyzed the case data tabulating specific indices from NPDS. The methodology was similar to that of previous years. Where changes were introduced, the differences are identified. Cases with medical outcomes of death were evaluated by a team of medical and clinical toxicologist reviewers using an ordinal scale of 1-6 to assess the Relative Contribution to Fatality (RCF) of the exposure.
RESULTS
In 2022, 2,483,183 closed encounters were logged by NPDS: 2,064,875 human exposures, 50,381 animal exposures, 363,099 information requests, 4,790 human confirmed nonexposures, and 38 animal confirmed nonexposures. Total encounters showed a 12.9% decrease from 2021, and human exposure cases decreased by 0.771%, while health care facility (HCF) human exposure cases increased by 0.214%. All information requests decreased by 48.4%, medication identification (Drug ID) requests decreased by 21.2%, and medical information requests showed a 76.92% decrease, although these remain twice the median number before the COVID-19 pandemic. Drug Information requests showed a 52.4% decrease, due to declining COVID-19 vaccine calls to PCs but still comprised 5.55% of all information contacts. Human exposures with less serious outcomes have decreased 1.70% per year since 2008, while those with more serious outcomes (moderate, major or death) have increased 4.41% per year since 2000.Consistent with the previous year, the top 4 substance classes most frequently involved in all human exposures were analgesics (11.5%), household cleaning substances (7.23%), antidepressants (5.61%), and cosmetics/personal care products (5.23%). Antihistamines (4.81%) replaced sedatives/hypnotics/antipsychotics as the 5 substance class. As a class, analgesic exposures increased most rapidly, by 1,514 cases/year (3.26%/year) over the past 10 years for cases with more serious outcomes.The top 5 most common exposures in children age 5 years or less were household cleaning substances (10.3%), analgesics (9.54%), cosmetics/personal care products (9.49%), dietary supplements/herbals/homeopathic (6.65%), and foreign bodies/toys/miscellaneous (6.61%). NPDS documented 3,255 human exposures resulting in death; 2,622 (80.6%) of these were judged as related (RCF of 1-Undoubtedly responsible, 2-Probably responsible, or 3-Contributory).
CONCLUSIONS
These data support the continued value of PC expertise and the need for specialized medical toxicology information to manage the increasing number of more serious exposures. Unintentional and intentional exposures continue to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the US. The near real-time status of NPDS represents a national public health resource to collect and monitor US exposure cases and information requests. The continuing mission of NPDS is to provide a nationwide infrastructure for surveillance for all types of exposures (e.g., foreign body, infectious, venomous, chemical agent, or commercial product), and the identification and tracking of significant public health events. NPDS is a model system for the near real-time surveillance of national and global public health.
Topics: Animals; Child; Humans; United States; Child, Preschool; Poisons; COVID-19 Vaccines; Pandemics; Poison Control Centers; Databases, Factual; Analgesics; Foreign Bodies; Cosmetics; Poisoning
PubMed: 38084513
DOI: 10.1080/15563650.2023.2268981