Suicidal tendency following drug intoxication is increased according to heightening social stress which is resulted from social complexity and development. A variety of drugs became availabel and clinical aspects of drug intoxication became
rather
variable, but recent reports about drug intoxication is rare, so we analyzed about 458cases of drug intoxication visited to emergency room of Chonbuk National University Medical School during recent 2 years from Dec. 1990 to Nov. 1992 and
following
results were obtained.
1. The total number of cases of acute drug intoxication was 458 which is 1.8% of total patietns of emergency room.
2. There was no sexual difference in incidence, but the highest incidence of age group was in 2nd and 3rd decade age group (43.3%)
3. Monthly incidence was highest in July. Higher frequency was observed in summer season.
4. The most common cause of durg intoxication was suicide (63.1%) and the others were accidental, spray, therapeutic, others, unknown in orders.
5. The most common drug of intoxication was insecticides (44.8%) and the others were miscellaneous, sedatives, herbicides, rodenticides, herb, unknown in orders.
6. Most of the patients (80.7%) came to the Hospital within 5 hours after ingestion of drugs.
7. Main clinical symptoms were impairment of consciousness, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain and irritability. Main physical signs were tachypnea, tachycardia, increased blood pressure and miosis. Such a symptom and sign was more prominent in
organophosphate intoxica tion.
8. Patients requiring longer management than 7days were observed in 8.3% and most of them were insecticides and acetic acid ingestion.
9. Complications were developed in 19.1% of the cases and the most common complication was respiratory failure, others were mucosal ulcerations, aspiration pneumonia in orders.
10. The overal mortality rate of the cases was 11.% and mortality rate was unknown, herbicides, pesticides in orders.
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