BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Poisoning is one of the most common causes of patient referrals, and the mortality rate in poisoning has been estimated at 2%. Due to the different epidemiological features and health consequences of poisoning in the world, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence and causes of poisoning in patients admitted to Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Babol during 2011-2012.

METHODS: In this cross-sectional, prospective study, data of the patients admitted due to poisoning were recorded from 22 June 2011 to 20 June 2012. In addition, demographic features including the cause of poisoning, patient and family history of poisoning or suicide and treatment side effects were collected using prepared checklists.

FINDINGS: Out of 635 patients, 265 (41.7%) were male and 370 (58.3%) were female with the mean age of 28.12±12.35 years. Rate of poisoning was significantly higher within the age range of 16-25 years among married subjects, housewives and self-employed patients (p<0.001). The most common agent of poisoning was drug consumption (73.3%), and benzodiazepines (31.3%) were the most frequent class of drugs to cause poisoning. In addition, suicide was the most common cause of poisoning (76.9%), and the majority of suicide cases had occurred by the use of drugs (88.9%). Benzodiazepines were the most commonly used agents in the suicide cases in this study (39.3%). Eventually, 524 patients were discharged willingly, 93 of whom (14.6%) recovered, and 4 cases (0.6%) were referred to another center. Moreover, 6 patients (0.9%) suffered several complications, and 8 subjects (1.3%) died because of poisoning.

CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, the highest rate of poisoning was observed in young adults, and the most common cause of poisoning was suicide. Furthermore, benzodiazepines were the main class of drugs to cause poisoning in the studied patients