The number of patients reporting at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) for emergency treatment for poisoning has trebled in the last five years.
This was disclosed by Prof Jamal Ara, JPMC’s National Poison Control Centre (NPCC) head, while speaking at the 48th annual symposium of the state-run hospital. Noted healthcare expert Prof SM Rab was the chief guest at the event.
The total number of poisoning patients, including snakebite cases, reported in 2007 was 1,158; 1,257 in 2008; 1,217 in 2009; 2,789 in 2010 and 3,551 cases last year, she informed the audience.
Explaining the causes of poisoning, Ara said that it was mainly due to chemicals and drugs, animal bites, plants and heavy metals.
A toll free telephone number (0800-77767) has been introduced at the JPMC for the public and general practitioners all over the country for poison information and guidance, she added.
Ara is the author of a book on increasing poisoning trend in Pakistan, which was launched during the symposium.
In the book – first of its kind in the country – she writes: “It seems there is senseless misunderstanding in the society that haunts these people and leads them to take such steps. There is something terribly wrong happening in the society which we have failed to identify and rectify”.
Complaining about a lack of awareness of harmful chemical substances, the professor called for proper labelling of products, legislation, awareness campaigns, which could raise knowledge among common people regarding their harmful effects and the safety precautions that should be taken.
“The risk of being poisoned nowadays lies more in the accidental factor, where poison is induced or taken by accident or in the form of deliberate self harm. These problems occur more frequently in children and poisoning is the fourth most common cause of death within young people.”
Her research shows that the trend of organophosphorus poisoning is almost the same while there is an increasing trend in drug overdose, kerosene, poisoning by rat killer, dhatura, unknown poisoning, opium and snakebites.
Chemical poisoning was found around 71.44 percent in the total patients brought to the NPCC from 2007 to 2010. The rate of recovery was noted at 93.65 per cent, while the rest was left against medical advice.
Among other centres, the Faisalabad Poison Control Centre received 1,428 poison cases in 2003, including 789 those taking the wheat pills (aluminum phosphide (56 percent) and other ingredients).
At the Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad, 82 cases, including 24 females, of suicide attempts were registered from July to December 2008, all were within 40 years of age, mostly less than 30. Of them, 50 were single, while 32 were married.
In case of youth, most factors recorded were peer pressures, lack of education, bad habits and bad company. Other causes were found to be chronic illness, legal, social and economic discrimination, low socioeconomic status, chronically poor physical health and being unmarried.
Discussing the aspect of the deliberate self harm, Ara said the most common cause of poison intake in records of the NPCC was found to be suicide and para-suicide. A further analysis showed that domestic crisis and violence was the most common reason in females, while in males there was financial issues and joblessness.
