The epidemiology and management of adult poisonings admitted to the short-stay ward of a large Scottish emergency department

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The emergency department of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary receives around 68,000 new adult admissions annually. All poisoning cases are admitted to a 14-bedded short-stay ward, except those admitted to intensive care or immediately discharged. This study aimed to analyse epidemiological trends and management of short-stay ward admissions for poisonings.

METHOD AND RESULTS: Adult (>13 years) poisoning presentations admitted to the emergency department short-stay ward of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary from 1 January-31 December 2009 were retrospectively reviewed using patient discharge summaries. During 2009, there were 1062 poisoning cases, of which repeat episodes were responsible for 15%. The mean age of presentation was 33.9 years (SD 14.4) and there was a female preponderance (62%). Almost half of poisonings were polypharmacy, alcohol was involved in 40% of cases and overdoses most commonly involved paracetamol (43%). Management involved basic observations only (66%), N-acetylcysteine (24%), naloxone (4%) and activated charcoal (1%). Liaison psychiatry reviewed 84% presentations and admitted 9% to the psychiatric unit.

CONCLUSIONS: The short-stay ward is important for acute management of poisonings and the data gained from this study should help to direct patient services appropriately.