Methadone Poisoning in Children and some Factors affecting it: A Cross-sectional Study in Tabriz, Northwest of Iran

Abstract

Introduction Children may be intentionally or unintentionally exposed to any substance. Substance poisoning is one of the most important emergency interventions in children that cause a great number of deaths each year. Regarding the importance of this issue and recent increase in number of poisoning cases, a study with the aim of investigating cases of substance poisoning and factors involved in emerging them was carried out in Children Hospital of Tabriz. Materials and Methods The present descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on hospitalized children with substance poisoning diagnosis during two years. The data was collected through referring to patients' case and using demographic information questionnaire and symptoms checklist. The data was analyzed using SPSS-13, descriptive statistics, t-test, chi-square and spearman tests. Results During two years, 97 children with the mean age of 48.6 +/- 32.3 months were hospitalized due to substance poisoning. 59.3% of the study population consisted of boys and 40.7% of girls. Drowsiness, decreased level of consciousness, vomiting and pin point pupil were the most common symptoms recorded in children. The relationship between the type of substance and parents' addiction was statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no significant relationship between intentional and unintentional poisoning and parents' addiction (P>0.05). Conclusion Non-specific package, unsafe keeping, and shortage of people's knowledge are among the most important factors involved in methadone poisoning in children. Delivering clear information about the fatal effect of this drug on children by health-care personnel especially doctors seems be necessary.