Objective  To understand the reserve, application, and transfer of common used antidotes in the appointed medical institutions for poisoning treatment in China, and to provide reference for the research and development, production, and reserve of antidotes.

  Methods  Totally 150 provincial poisoning treatment bases and appointed medical institutions for poisoning treatment at the provincial, municipal and county levels were cross-sectionally surveyed. The antidotes reserve condition was evaluated, based on the results of 2018 national survey on the basic situation of poisoning health emergency.

  Results  Totally 136 medical institutions reported their reserves of antidotes, and 124 filled in the reserve list. 79.41% (108/136) medical institutions reserved antidotes, and 92.65% (126/136) institutions regularly renewed these antidotes. The proportion of medical institutions in reserve of 14 drugs listed in catalogue of 24 common used antidotes was less than 10%. 43.38% (59/136) of the medical institutions thought the reserves of antidotes did not meet the requirement. 44.12% (60/136) medical institutions reported that being out-of-stock was the main problem affecting their reserve of antidotes. 63.24% (86/136) institutions thought that there were fewer types of antidotes available.

  Conclusions  The medical institutions appointed for poisoning treatment had difficulties in reserving antidotes. The types of antidotes cannot meet the requirements of daily treatment and health emergencies. The mechanisms of production, supply, and reserve of antidotes urgently need to be optimized. It is necessary to increase support for research and development of antidotes, establish a green channel for antidotes approval, and improve the ways to obtain information on the reserves of antidotes.