2016 Annual Report of the University of Kansas Health System Poison Control Center

Abstract

Introduction. This is the 2016 Annual Report of the University of
Kansas Health System Poison Control Center (PCC). The PCC is one
of 55 certified poison control centers in the United States and serves
the state of Kansas 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with certified specialists
in poison information and medical toxicologists. The PCC
receives calls from the public, law enforcement, health care professionals,
and public health agencies. All calls to the PCC are recorded
electronically in the Toxicall® data management system and uploaded
in near real-time to the National Poison Data System (NPDS), which
is the data repository for all poison control centers in the U.S.

Methods. All encounters reported to the PCC from January 1, 2016
to December 31, 2016 were analyzed. Data recorded for each exposure
includes caller location, age, weight, gender, substance exposed
to, nature of exposure, route of exposure, interventions, medical
outcome, disposition and location of care. Encounters were classified
further as human exposure, animal exposure, confirmed non-exposure,
or information call (no exposure reported).

Results. The PCC logged 21,965 total encounters in 2016, including
20,713 human exposure cases. The PCC received calls from every
county in Kansas. The majority of human exposure cases (50.4%, n =
10,174) were female. Approximately 67% (n = 13,903) of human exposures
involved a child (defined as 19 years or less). Most encounters
occurred at a residence (94.0%, n = 19,476) and most calls (72.3%, n
= 14,964) originated from a residence. The majority of human exposures
(n = 18,233) were acute cases (exposures occurring over eight
hours or less). Ingestion was the most common route of exposure
documented (86.3%, n = 17,882). The most common reported substance
in pediatric encounters was cosmetics/personal care products
(n = 1,362), followed by household cleaning products (n = 1,301). For
adult encounters, sedatives/hypnotics/antipsychotics (n = 1,130) and
analgesics (n = 1,103) were the most frequently involved substances.
Unintentional exposures were the most common reason for exposures
(81.3%, n = 16,836). Most encounters (71.1%, n = 14,732) were
managed in a non-healthcare facility (i.e., a residence). Among human
exposures, 14,679 involved exposures to pharmaceutical agents while
10,176 involved exposure to non-pharmaceuticals. Medical outcomes
were 32% (n = 6,582) no effect, 19% (n = 3,911) minor effect, 8% (n =
1,623) moderate effect, and 2% (n = 348) major effects. There were 15
deaths in 2016 reported to the PCC. Number of exposures, calls from
healthcare facilities, cases with moderate or major medical outcomes,
and deaths all increased in 2016 compared to 2015.

Conclusions. The results of the 2016 University of Kansas Health
System Poison Control annual report demonstrates that the center
receives calls from the entire state of Kansas totaling over 20,000
human exposures per year. While pediatric exposures remain the
most common, there is an increasing number of calls from healthcare
facilities and for cases with serious outcomes. The experience of the
PCC is similar to national data. This report supports the continued
value of the PCC to both public and acute health care in the state of
Kansas. Kans J Med 2018;11(2):24-33.