Objective To analysis the epidemiological characteristics of acute chemical poisoning cases in China, and a provide evidence for establishment of prevention and control strategy against chemical poisoning.
Methods A retrospective analysis of acute chemical poisoning cases in 87 hospitals from 26 provinces was carried out, including the time distribution, regional distribution, population distribution, varieties of toxicants, reason, exposure route and outcome, etc. The data were sorted out and analyzed by Excel and R 4.0.3.
Results From 2017 to 2021, there were 11 724 cases of acute chemical poisoning, including 5 602 inpatient cases and 6 122 outpatient and emergency cases. Acute carbon monoxide poisoning accounted for 70.46% (8 261 cases), daily chemicals accounted for 7.89% (925 cases), and other chemicals accounted for 21.65% (2 538 cases). The number of poisoning cases was higher in men than in women. 72.69% poisoning cases were young and middle-aged people with labor ability. The number of poisoning cases decreased with the increase of education level (P < 0.01). Farmers (26.34%) ranked first, followed by workers (13.37%) and freelancers (8.53%). Acute carbon monoxide poisoning occurred frequently in winter and spring, and daily chemicals and other chemicals had no obvious seasonal trend. The top three cases were reported in Heilongjiang (24.58%), Sichuan (16.13%) and Guizhou (14.96%). Accidental poisoning cases accounted for 81.21% of the total cases. Occupational exposure was the second cause of poisoning, accounting for 8.38%. The distribution of poisoning causes of different poisons was statistically significant (P < 0.01). Accidental poisoning was more common in carbon monoxide poisoning cases, while occupational exposure and intentional poisoning were more common in other chemical poisoning cases. 83.34% of the patients with acute chemical poisoning had recovered or improved when they left the hospital, and the death cases accounted for 0.48%. The fatality rate of daily chemicals was the highest (1.19%), which increased with age.
Conclusions The problem of acute chemical poisoning still exists and is more obvious in specific poisons, regions and populations. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a more sound poisoning monitoring system and formulate more scientific and accurate poison prevention and control strategies.
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