Medicine
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This repository contains the published and unpublished research of the Faculty of Medicine by the staff members of the faculty
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Item Patterns and outcome of acute poisoning among children in rural Sri Lanka(BioMed Central, 2018) Dayasiri, M.B.K.C.; Jayamanne, S.F.; Jayasinghe, C.Y.BACKGROUND: The burden of poisoning among children is largely underexplored in rural Sri Lanka. This study describes the patterns of demographic characteristics, poison related factors, clinical management and outcome following acute poisoning among children (9 months- 12 years) in rural Sri Lanka. METHOD: This hospital based multi-center study included Anuradhapura Teaching hospital, Polonnaruwa District General hospital, and 34 regional hospitals within Regional Director of Health Services in North Central province of Sri Lanka. The study assessed clinical profiles, poison related factors, clinical management, complications, harmful first aid practices, reasons for delayed management, complications and outcomes following acute poisoning over 7 years. RESULTS: Among 1621 children with acute poisoning, the majority were in preschool age group. Household chemicals were accountable for 489 acute poisonings (30.2%). The most common poison was kerosene oil, followed by paracetamol. Most events occurred within their own domestic premises. Potentially harmful first aid measures were practiced by approximately one third of care givers. Reasons for delayed presentation at emergency center included lack of concern by family members regarding the urgency of the situation and lack of knowledge regarding possible complications. Complications were observed in 12.5% and the most common complication was chemical pneumonitis. CONCLUSIONS: Children with acute poisoing in rural Sri Lanka were predominantly preschoolers. They are poisonined mostly within their own housing premises. Kerosene oil, in addition to being the most common poison, had additional risks of aspiration pneumonia following potentially hazadrous first aid measures practised by the care givers. Complications though rare were potentially preventable by community education and awareness on timely attention to seek medical care, and avoidance of harmful first aid practices. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12887-018-1246-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.Item Risk factors for acute unintentional poisoning among children aged 1-5 years in the rural community of Sri Lanka(Hindawi Pub. Corp., 2017) Dayasiri, M.B.K.C.; Jayamanne, S.F.; Jayasinghe, C.Y.BACKGROUND: Acute poisoning in children is a major preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries. However, there is a wide variation in patterns of poisoning and related risk factors across different geographic regions globally. This hospital based case-control study identifies the risk factors of acute unintentional poisoning among children aged 1-5 years of the ruralcommunity in a developing Asian country. METHODS: This hospital based case-control study included 600 children. Each group comprised three hundred children and all children were recruited at Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital, Sri Lanka, over two years (from February 2012 to January 2014). The two groups were compared to identify the effect of 23 proposed risk factors for unintentional poisoning using multivariate analysis in a binary logistic regression model. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis identified eight risk factors which were significantly associated with unintentional poisoning. The strongest risk factors were inadequate supervision (95% CI: 15.4-52.6), employed mother (95% CI: 2.9-17.5), parental concern of lack of family support (95% CI: 3.65-83.3), and unsafe storage of household poisons (95% CI: 1.5-4.9). CONCLUSIONS: Since inadequate supervision, unsafe storage, and unsafe environment are the strongest risk factors for childhood unintentional poisoning, the effect of community education to enhance vigilance, safe storage, and assurance of safe environment should be evaluated.