Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of poisoning cases reviewed from all data collection sites, from January to December 2012 (n = 873)
| Patient Characteristics | Frequency | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Sex | ||
| Male | 450 | 51.6 |
| Female | 423 | 48.5 |
| Age | ||
| 0 to 12 years | 300 | 36.3 |
| 13 to 19 years | 149 | 18.0 |
| 20 to 30 years | 253 | 30.6 |
| Over 30 years | 125 | 15.1 |
| Mean age (SD) | 22 years (22 years) | |
| Residence | ||
| Urban | 239 | 27.4 |
| Peri-urban | 562 | 64.4 |
| Rural | 60 | 6.9 |
| Circumstance of poisoning | ||
| Accidental | 453 | 51.9 |
| Deliberate self-harm | 336 | 38.5 |
| Recreational | 3 | 0.3 |
| Outcome of poisoning | ||
| Recovery | 847 | 97.0 |
| Injury | 3 | 0.3 |
| Death | 23 | 2.6 |
| Route of poisoning | ||
| Ingestion | 793 | 90.8 |
| Inhalation | 14 | 1.6 |
| Absorption (Dermal) | 1 | 0.1 |
| Animal/Insect bites | 60 | 6.9 |
| Toxic agent involved | ||
| Household chemicals | 44 | 5.0 |
| Pharmaceutical | 123 | 14.1 |
| Animal/insect venom | 60 | 6.9 |
| Pesticides | 187 | 21.4 |
| Food Poisoning | 115 | 13.2 |
| Narcotics | 3 | 0.3 |
| Traditional medicine | 7 | 0.8 |
| Plants | 19 | 2.2 |
| Unspecified agents | 173 | 19.8 |
| Other agents | 142 | 16.3 |
• Marital status and occupation were not included in the table because the variables were found to be missing in the hospital records for most cases
• Pharmaceuticals were predominantly oral but difficult to disaggregate
• The circumstance of poisoning for the cases was based on details of information recorded in the case files
• The category ‘other agents’ included chemicals that could not fit into the categories created prior to data collection. The specific agents have been tabulated in Table 5