Version 1
: Received: 14 November 2023 / Approved: 15 November 2023 / Online: 16 November 2023 (10:11:22 CET)
How to cite:
Al-Khattabi, G. Pattern and Determinants of Chemical and Drug Overdose Poisoning, Makkah, Saudi Arabia 2018-2019. Preprints2023, 2023111053. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202311.1053.v1
Al-Khattabi, G. Pattern and Determinants of Chemical and Drug Overdose Poisoning, Makkah, Saudi Arabia 2018-2019. Preprints 2023, 2023111053. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202311.1053.v1
Al-Khattabi, G. Pattern and Determinants of Chemical and Drug Overdose Poisoning, Makkah, Saudi Arabia 2018-2019. Preprints2023, 2023111053. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202311.1053.v1
APA Style
Al-Khattabi, G. (2023). Pattern and Determinants of Chemical and Drug Overdose Poisoning, Makkah, Saudi Arabia 2018-2019. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202311.1053.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Al-Khattabi, G. 2023 "Pattern and Determinants of Chemical and Drug Overdose Poisoning, Makkah, Saudi Arabia 2018-2019" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202311.1053.v1
Abstract
Background: Poisoning is a challenging medical condition facing health care providers, as it usually results in serious outcomes in terms of morbidities or mortalities. Poisoning is a challenging medical condition facing health care providers, as it usually results in serious outcomes in terms of morbidities or mortalities. The lack of or inadequate information about the circumstances, substances and populations at risk are considered barriers to the actual prevention of poisoning and effective intervention strategies in Saudi Arabia. The aim of the current study was to describe the pattern and determinants of chemical and drug overdose poisoning in Makkah.Subjects and methods:All reports of chemical and drug overdose poisoning delivered to the Environmental Health and Occupational Safety Department in Makkah over two years (2018-2019) were reviewed.Results: The total number of cases reported in 2018 was 209 cases, while it reached 42 cases in 2019. The overwhelming majority of the cases were Saudi (91.6%), with a slight predominance of males (57.4%) over females (42.6%). Generally, almost two-thirds of the cases occurred in children below 13 years (61.4%), most of the poisoning cases resulted from drug overdose (63.3%), while 34.7% were chemical poisoning. The most common drug poisoning was attributed to analgesics followed by antiepileptics, antihypertensive drugs, antipsychotics and antimicrobials, while cleaning and detergent agents were the most commonly poisoned chemicals. The majority of these agents were taken by the oral route. Children's chemical poisoning was significantly higher than that in older age groups (p<0.05). All intentional poisoning occurred in adults; the great majority of them (88.9%) used drug overdosing rather than chemical substances.Conclusion and recommendations: The current study results are consistent with most of the previous studies carried out in different regions of Saudi Arabia. Further in-depth studies are needed to elaborate other social and demographic factors associated with chemical and drug overdose poisoning. Public health plans, policies and legislations should be implemented to reduce these factors. Intensive supervision of children is needed. Suicidal poisoning patients should seek psychiatric help to limit the possibility of attempting suicide again in the future. Furthermore, efforts are needed to plan and implement health education programs about the factors proven in the current study to be significantly related to chemical and drug overdose poisoning.
Keywords
pattern; determinants; chemical; drug overdose; poisoning; makkah almukarramah; Saudi Arabia
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Public, Environmental and Occupational Health
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.