Paediatric poisoning in Primary Care

Childhood poisoning represents an infrequent cause of admission in paediatric emergency departements and Primary Health Care. In most cases, the ingested agent has minimal or no clinically important toxic effects. Occasionally, however, such ingestion can be life-threatening or can even result in death. There is an age cut-off in paediatric poisonings, with different prognosis. In this way, patients less than 7-8 years are admitted by non-intentional poisonings, generally drugs and, less frequently, domestic products. Deliberate self-poisoning and unintentional intoxication during recreational activities are frequent circumstances of poisoning in older children and teenagers, being therapeutic approach more complex. The child admitted with symptoms derived from the poisoning presence is in a risk situation. Most common non-intentional poisonings are due to the ingestion of liquid presentations of acetaminophen. If the ingested substance is not known, toxidrome tables are a very useful tool in the management of these patients. Activated charcoal is the first choice procedure if gastrointestinal decontamination is indicated. Every medical centre should have activated charcoal in order to treat correctly and quickly the most common paediatric poisonings. Additional tests are not very useful in the out-hospital setting and it?s very uncommon an antidote to save the life of a child. In life-threatening situations it's mandatory to perform a correct ABC.