Summary
Hospital mortality due to acute poisoning: EXITOX 2012
Puiguriguer J, Nogué S, Echarte JL, Ferrer A, Dueñas A, García L, Córdoba F, Burillo-Putze G
Affiliation of the authors
Hospital Universitario Son Espases, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Fundación Española de Toxicología Clínica (FETOC), Spain. Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain. Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain. Hospital Clínico Universitario, Zaragoza, Spain. Hospital Universitario Río Hortega, Valladolid, Spain. Corporació Sanitaria Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Spain. Hospital Moisès Broggi, Sant Joan Despí, Barcelona, Spain. Hospital Universitario de Canarias, Universidad Europea de Canarias, Tenerife, Spain.
DOI
Quote
Puiguriguer J, Nogué S, Echarte JL, Ferrer A, Dueñas A, García L, et al. Hospital mortality due to acute poisoning: EXITOX 2012. Emergencias. 2013;25:467-71
Summary
Death registers are a tool for planning public health care interventions, but data on
deaths due to acute poisoning are scarce in Spain. We report a descriptive study based
on a cross-section of patients who died from acute poisoning in 2012 in 8 Spanish
public hospitals and whose deaths were recorded in the EXITOX register. Of the 14
registered cases, 7 (50%) were suicides; 71% were men, and the mean age was 59.1
years. Caustic substances comprised the largest category (35.7%) of toxic agents,
followed by medications (21.4%), and street drugs (21.4%). The mortality rate was 0.5
deaths/100 000 inhabitants. Specific antidotes were used in 28.6% of the cases. In 71%,
there was a clear relationship between death and acute poisoning. The EXITOX register,
even with its limitations, seems to provide an appropriate tool for understanding
mortality due to acute intoxication in Spain.