J Korean Soc Clin Toxicol.
2012 Jun;10(1):8-14.
Comparison between Emergency Patient Poisoning Cases and the Tox-Info System Database
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. emstar@yuhs.ac
- 2Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
- 3Department of Emergency Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Wonju, Korea.
- 4Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
- 5Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Korea.
- 6Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea.
- 7Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, Korea.
- 8Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Daegu, Korea.
- 9Department of Emergency Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 10Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Eulji University, Deajeon, Korea.
- 11Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Hallym University, Seoul, Korea.
- 12Department of Emergency Medicine, Inje University, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Busan, Korea.
Abstract
- PURPOSE
The Tox-Info system is a poisonous substance information database developed by the Korean National Institute of Food and Drug Safety Evaluation. The aim of this study was to estimate the coverage effectiveness of the Tox-Info system by comparing the toxic substances included in the database with the distribution of the toxic substances implicated in the cases of intoxicated patients presenting to emergency departments. The secondary aim of the study was to propose any additional substances that should be added to the database.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients suffering with toxic exposure who had visited any of 12 selected emergency departments in Korea from January 2010 to December 2011. The identified toxic substances were classified into groups including prescription drugs, agricultural chemicals, household products, animals or plants, herbal drugs, and others. We calculated the coverage rate of the Tox-Info database relative to the number of intoxication cases and the type of toxic substances involved.
RESULTS
A total of 5,840 intoxicated patient records were collected. Their mean age was 46.6+/-20.5 years and 56.2% were female. Of the total intoxication cases, 87.8% of the identified toxic substances were included in the Tox-Info database, while only 41.6% of all of the types of identified toxic substances were included. Broken down by category, 122 prescription drugs, 15 agricultural chemicals, 12 household products, 14 animals or plants and 2 herbal drugs involved in poisoning cases were not included in the Tox-info database.
CONCLUSION
This study demonstrated the clinical usefulness of the Tox-Info system. While 87.8% of the substances involved in the cases were included in the Tox-Info database, the database should be continuously updated in order to include even the most uncommon toxic substances.
- Full Text Links
-
- Actions
-
Cited
- CITED
-
- Close
- Share
-
- Similar articles
-
- Understanding the status of acute poisoning patients who visited the emergency room in 2018: using sample in-depth survey data
- XPERNATO-TOX: an Integrated Toxicogenomics Knowledgebase
- Availability of urine toxicologic screening tests in the emergency department: focused on illegal drugs
- Comparative Study of Hugel-tox(R) versus Botox(R) for the Treatment of Essential Blepharospasm
- Incidence patterns of nervous system diseases after carbon monoxide poisoning: a retrospective longitudinal study in South Korea from 2012 to 2018
