Accidental ingestions of oral prescription drugs: A multicenter survey

B.J. Jacobson, A.R. Rock, M.S. Cohn and T. Litovitz

American Journal of Public Health, 1989, vol. 79, issue 7, 853-856

Abstract: Accidental ingestion of oral prescription drugs by children under age five continues to be a public health problem. A telephone survey of 1,866 ingestion incidents reported to nine poison control centers was conducted in the spring of 1986. Accidental ingestion occurred most often with a two-year-old child (42 per cent) in their own home (82 per cent). Thirty-five per cent of the toxic drugs ingested at home belonged to someone other than the immediate family, most often a grandparent. Toxic drugs were more often out of their usual storage location and in non-child-resistant prescription packaging, a nonprescription container, or in no container. Twenty-two per cent of all child-resistant packages were non-functional. Overall, at least 61 per cent of all medications had no child-resistant barrier at the time of ingestion. Accessible storage locations such as the kitchen counter, table top, or top of a dresser or bedside table greatly increased the risk of accidental ingestion. These results suggest the need for effective child-resistant packaging that is easier for all adults to use.

Date: 1989
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1989:79:7:853-856_8

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