Do emergency physicians need to know definitive treatments? Analysis of patients hospitalised for poisoning

Objective: To compare the hospitalisation rates and to examine the requirement for physicians in the Emergency Department to have knowledge of definitive treatment in poisoning cases. Methods: The retrospective study examined the cases 589 adult patients who were admitted to the Emergency Department of Hacettepe University School of Medicine between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2007, with poisoning. Epidemiological data and hospitalisation rates were compared statistically between the patients with good general medical condition, who required simple medical intervention and were discharged from the emergency service after a short period of observation; and those with poor general medical condition that required hospitalisation. SPSS 15 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Out of the 589 patients, 256 (43.4%) were found to be in good general medical condition. There were 333 (56.5%) patients whose general medical condition was not good. Treatment of 244 (95.3%) patients with good general condition was completed within the Emergency Department and they were discharged. Treatment of 295 (88.6%) patients with poor general condition also did not require hospitalisation. Only 50 (8.4%) were hospitalised in an appropriate clinic and their treatment was completed in various clinics. Conclusion: Of all the patients admitted with poisoning, the treatment of nearly all the patients in good medical condition and most of the patients whose general condition was not good was completed within the Emergency Department before they were discharged from the hospital. Even when the general condition of the patients was not good at the time of presentation, it was regulated by the physicians through definitive interventions.