Accidental poisonings, in children

Ethylene glycol is common in automotive antifreeze mixtures. Because of its toxicity, it is sometimes replaced by propylene glycol, which is FDA approved for use in food, and is considered generally accepted as safe. Ethylene glycol has a sweet taste, and accidental poisoning in children is a danger. 

Accidental poisoning in children not infrequently occurs. Economic poisons, not properly labeled, are of great concern both for children and adults. The more extensive problem of poisoning in man and domestic animals, however, arises from the ingestion of residual poisons remaining on agricultural products, on weeds, and in impregnated soil (1,6). 

Agarwal V, Gupta A. 1974. Accidental poisonings in children. Indian Pediatr 11(9) 617-621. 

Aldy D, Siregar R, Siregar H. 1978. Accidental poisoning in children with special reference to kerosene poisoning. Paediatr Indones 18(l-2) 45-50. 

BwiboNO. 1969. Accidental poisoning in children in Uganda. BrMed J4(683) 601-602. 

Sarker AK, Ghosh S, Barik K. 1990. A study of accidental poisoning (in children) in a rural medical college hospital of West Bengal. Indian J Public Health 34(3) 159-162. 

Singh S, Narang A, Walia BN, et al. 1981. Accidental poisoning in children Ten years experience. Indian Pediatr 18(3) 163-166. 

When the Marseilles Poisons Centre analysed information on lithium overdose between 1991 and 2000, in addition to an unspecified number of suicide attempts and accidental poisonings in children, the next most frequent reports were prescription misinterpretation (n = 43), dehydration in the elderly (n = 35), renal insufficiency (n = 15), and diuretic interactions (n = 8) (533). 

Ingle, V.N., Kale, V.G., Talwalkar, Y.B. (1966). Accidental poisoning in children with particular reference to castor beans. Indian J. Pediatr. 33 237-40. 

Chun, L.T. 1951. Accidental poisoning in children with sjiecial reference to kerosene poisoning. Hawaii Med. J. ll(2) 83-87. Craig, J.0.1953. Poisoning by the volatile oils in childhood. Arch. Dis. Child 28(142) 475-483. 

Accidental or intentional ingestion of folk remedies containing lead (discussed in Section 5.5) represents another source for potential lead-poisoning in children. Acute lead encephalopathy in early infancy has been reported in a Middle Eastern study for 14 infants following the use of Bint al Thahab, a traditional... 

Accidental overdose of iron-containing products is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in children younger than 6 years of age. Keep products out of the reach of children. In case of accidental overdose, call a doctor or a poison control center immediately. 

In contrast, in a US Poison Center study of a random sampling of 500 cases of chemical eye exposure over a 6-month period in 1986, the majority (84.4%) occurred in the home and involved household products [15]. These most commonly involved accidental exposures in children [15]. 

Qll Iron preparations are a common cause of accidental poisoning in very young children, who may mistake iron tablets for sweets. How is acute iron toxicity treated ... 

The concentration of iron in die serum of normal subjects is in die range 0.8 to 1.6 jag/ml. Iron is concentrated in the erythrocytes and whole blood concenhations in healthy subjects are in the range 380 to 560 lag/ml for females, and 450 to 625 jag/ml for males. The accidental poisoning of children with iron preparations is common and serum concenhations greater than about 3 jag/ml indicate the need for immediate therapy. Serum concenhations of up to about 25 jag/ml have been reported in intoxicated children, and up to about 50 lag/ml in cases of fatal poisoning. 

Kanabar, D., Volans, G. (2002). Accidental superwarfarin poisoning in children - less treatment is better. Lancet 360(9338) 963. 

Accidental iron poisoning in children is an important medical emergency. 

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