Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Exposure to pharmaceutical poisoning affects people of all ages around the globe, and this is a serious emergency and a major problem. The unsafe medication disposal, such as keeping it at home until it expires, throwing it away in household garbage, giving it to friends/relatives, and flushing it down the toilet, has the consequences of this accidental, homicidal, or suicidal pharmaceutical poisoning toward international communities that range from short-term illness to long-term complications. However, the impact of pharmaceutical poisoning on the Malaysian population is a regular and frequent practice of disposal methods for pharmaceutical waste, and the awareness of pharmaceutical waste can have an adverse impact. PURPOSE : This study aimed to investigate the exposure to and association between pharmaceutical poisoning and intentional and accidental factors in the population from Perak, 2019 to 2021. PATIENTS AND METHODS : This retrospective study evaluated reports from 348 patients with pharmaceutical poisoning in Perak, submitted to the National Poison Center (NPC) from 2019 to 2021. Initially, patient characteristics and clinical presentations were determined for pharmaceutical poisoning exposure, and their association with intentional and unintentional factors was analyzed. RESULTS : This study found that the working-age group (48.28%) was the most represented age group. Psychiatric (23.0%) was the most frequent cause of poisoning. Quetiapine (2.9%) and calamine lotion (2.3%) were marked as the most common causes. Female sex (p < 0.001), working age (p < 0.001), and psychiatric agents (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with intentional poisoning, whereas male sex (p < 0.001), young age (p < 0.001), and topical agents (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with accidental poisoning. CONCLUSION : The exposure to pharmaceutical poisoning was associated with age, sex, psychiatric agents, and topical agents.