Poison prevention practices and medically attended poisoning in young children: multicentre case-control study

Introduction Childhood poisonings are common, placing a substantial burden on health services. Case-control studies have found inconsistent evidence about modifiable risk factors for poisonings amongst 0-4 year olds. This study quantifies associations between poison prevention practices and medic...

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Main Authors: Kendrick, Denise, Majsak-Newman, Gosia, Benford, Penny, Coupland, Carol, Timblin, Claire, Hayes, Mike, Goodenough, Trudy, Hawkins, Adrian, Reading, Richard
Format: Article
Published: BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2017
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33207/
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author Kendrick, Denise
Majsak-Newman, Gosia
Benford, Penny
Coupland, Carol
Timblin, Claire
Hayes, Mike
Goodenough, Trudy
Hawkins, Adrian
Reading, Richard
author_facet Kendrick, Denise
Majsak-Newman, Gosia
Benford, Penny
Coupland, Carol
Timblin, Claire
Hayes, Mike
Goodenough, Trudy
Hawkins, Adrian
Reading, Richard
author_sort Kendrick, Denise
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Introduction Childhood poisonings are common, placing a substantial burden on health services. Case-control studies have found inconsistent evidence about modifiable risk factors for poisonings amongst 0-4 year olds. This study quantifies associations between poison prevention practices and medically attended poisonings in 0-4 year olds. Methods Multicentre case-control study conducted at hospitals, minor injury units and family practices from four study centres in England between 2010 and 2013. Participants comprised 567 children presenting with unintentional poisoning occurring at home, and 2320 community control participants matched on age, sex, date of event and study centre. Parents/caregivers provided data on safety practices, safety equipment use, home hazards and potential confounders, by means of self-completion questionnaires. Data were analysed using conditional logistic regression. Results Compared with community controls, parents of poisoned children were significantly more likely not to store medicines out of reach (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.59; 95%CI, 1.21, 2.09; population attributable fraction (PAF) 15%), not to store medicines safely (locked or out of reach (AOR 1.83; 95%CI 1.38, 2.42; PAF 16%) and not to have put all medicines (AOR 2.11; 95%CI 1.54, 2.90; PAF 20%) or household products (AOR 1.79, 95%CI 1.29, 2.48; PAF 11%) away immediately after use. Conclusions Not storing medicines out of reach or locked away and not putting medicines and household products away immediately after use increased the odds of secondary care attended poisonings in 0-4 year olds. If associations are causal, implementing these poison prevention practices could each prevent between 11% and 20% of poisonings.
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spelling nottingham-332072020-05-04T19:58:05Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33207/ Poison prevention practices and medically attended poisoning in young children: multicentre case-control study Kendrick, Denise Majsak-Newman, Gosia Benford, Penny Coupland, Carol Timblin, Claire Hayes, Mike Goodenough, Trudy Hawkins, Adrian Reading, Richard Introduction Childhood poisonings are common, placing a substantial burden on health services. Case-control studies have found inconsistent evidence about modifiable risk factors for poisonings amongst 0-4 year olds. This study quantifies associations between poison prevention practices and medically attended poisonings in 0-4 year olds. Methods Multicentre case-control study conducted at hospitals, minor injury units and family practices from four study centres in England between 2010 and 2013. Participants comprised 567 children presenting with unintentional poisoning occurring at home, and 2320 community control participants matched on age, sex, date of event and study centre. Parents/caregivers provided data on safety practices, safety equipment use, home hazards and potential confounders, by means of self-completion questionnaires. Data were analysed using conditional logistic regression. Results Compared with community controls, parents of poisoned children were significantly more likely not to store medicines out of reach (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.59; 95%CI, 1.21, 2.09; population attributable fraction (PAF) 15%), not to store medicines safely (locked or out of reach (AOR 1.83; 95%CI 1.38, 2.42; PAF 16%) and not to have put all medicines (AOR 2.11; 95%CI 1.54, 2.90; PAF 20%) or household products (AOR 1.79, 95%CI 1.29, 2.48; PAF 11%) away immediately after use. Conclusions Not storing medicines out of reach or locked away and not putting medicines and household products away immediately after use increased the odds of secondary care attended poisonings in 0-4 year olds. If associations are causal, implementing these poison prevention practices could each prevent between 11% and 20% of poisonings. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2017-04 Article PeerReviewed Kendrick, Denise, Majsak-Newman, Gosia, Benford, Penny, Coupland, Carol, Timblin, Claire, Hayes, Mike, Goodenough, Trudy, Hawkins, Adrian and Reading, Richard (2017) Poison prevention practices and medically attended poisoning in young children: multicentre case-control study. Injury Prevention, 23 (2). pp. 93-101. ISSN 1475-5785 Poisoning; prevention; unintentional; home; case-control; risk factor http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/23/2/93 doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2015-041828 doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2015-041828
spellingShingle Poisoning; prevention; unintentional; home; case-control; risk factor
Kendrick, Denise
Majsak-Newman, Gosia
Benford, Penny
Coupland, Carol
Timblin, Claire
Hayes, Mike
Goodenough, Trudy
Hawkins, Adrian
Reading, Richard
Poison prevention practices and medically attended poisoning in young children: multicentre case-control study
title Poison prevention practices and medically attended poisoning in young children: multicentre case-control study
title_full Poison prevention practices and medically attended poisoning in young children: multicentre case-control study
title_fullStr Poison prevention practices and medically attended poisoning in young children: multicentre case-control study
title_full_unstemmed Poison prevention practices and medically attended poisoning in young children: multicentre case-control study
title_short Poison prevention practices and medically attended poisoning in young children: multicentre case-control study
title_sort poison prevention practices and medically attended poisoning in young children: multicentre case-control study
topic Poisoning; prevention; unintentional; home; case-control; risk factor
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33207/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33207/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33207/