Unknown Poisoning Amongst Serving Personnel

Background

Poisoning is recognized as an important health problem in many countries of the world. There is incomplete information on poisoning accidents, which is a major problem in developing countries.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis of hospital records of armed forces personnel admitted with a provisional diagnosis of unknown poisoning was carried out.

Result

Unknown poisoning represented 0.25% of hospital admissions and 6584 man-hours were lost. 85% poisonings occurred at railway station and majority were food related. Average length of stay in the hospital was 14.69 days. Ten patients required intensive care and two patients were admitted to the psychiatry ward.

Conclusion

Majority of the incidents occurred in railways, signifying the importance of health education and precaution while proceeding on leave. Since, most of the affected were young soldiers, education should start from recruiting centers. Few patients had alcohol intoxication reflecting their dependence potential and need for reinforcing prohibition on alcohol consumption during travel.Key Words: Unknown poisoning, Serving soldiers