ADOLESCENT POISONING - A COMPARISON OF ACCIDENTAL AND INTENTIONAL EXPOSURES

Abstract

The fact that intentional drug and toxic substance use/abuse by adolescents has dramatically increased during the past 2 decades often overshadows the knowledge that adolescents also suffer accidental poisonings as well. A 1-year retrospective analysis of 1,879 poison exposures involving children 13 to 17 years of age revealed 894 (47.6%) were due to accidental circumstances and 945 (50.2%) were intentional in nature. Nonpharmaceuticals were involved in 63.5% of all accidental adolescent poisonings versus 36.5% involving various drugs. Intentional nonpharmaceutical exposures were 17.5% compared to total intentional adolescent poisonings, while 82.5% involved drugs. Site of exposure was the c..