TREATED VS REPORTED TOXIC EXPOSURES - DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN A POISON CONTROL CENTER AND A MEMBER HOSPITAL

Abstract

Statistics accumulated by Poison Control Centers (PCC) are routinely used on the local, regional and national levels by governmental agencies to set policy and direct funding. Incomplete reporting by member hospitals is recognized by PCC as a factor contributing to discrepancies in epidemiological estimates; however little emphasis is classically placed by the PCC on expanding reporting from member hospitals. A 1y retrospective review of patients with toxic exposure presenting to an urban Emergency Medicine Department (EMD) was performed to quantify the lack of concordance between treated and reported toxic exposures. 470 toxic exposures presented over the study period, of which only 123 (26..