• A I C Teo and J G Cooper.
• Emergency Department, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, UK. alison.teo.05@aberdeen.ac.uk
• Scot Med J. 2013 Aug 1;58(3):149-53.

Background And AimsThe emergency department of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary receives around 68,000 new adult admissions annually. All poisoning cases are admitted to a 14-bedded short-stay ward, except those admitted to intensive care or immediately discharged. This study aimed to analyse epidemiological trends and management of short-stay ward admissions for poisonings.Method And ResultsAdult (>13 years) poisoning presentations admitted to the emergency department short-stay ward of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary from 1 January-31 December 2009 were retrospectively reviewed using patient discharge summaries. During 2009, there were 1062 poisoning cases, of which repeat episodes were responsible for 15%. The mean age of presentation was 33.9 years (SD 14.4) and there was a female preponderance (62%). Almost half of poisonings were polypharmacy, alcohol was involved in 40% of cases and overdoses most commonly involved paracetamol (43%). Management involved basic observations only (66%), N-acetylcysteine (24%), naloxone (4%) and activated charcoal (1%). Liaison psychiatry reviewed 84% presentations and admitted 9% to the psychiatric unit.ConclusionsThe short-stay ward is important for acute management of poisonings and the data gained from this study should help to direct patient services appropriately.

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