Mortality rate and Its predictors among acutely poisoned patients admitted to North Shewa Zone public hospitals, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Poisoning is a serious medical emergency that has a high rate of morbidity and mortality. People of all nations are frequently exposed to poisoning. The magnitude is higher in developing countries. Nevertheless, there is no well-organized poison control center, screening, or confirmatory tests in low-income countries. Moreover, there is currently a lack of data concerning the survival status of patients after acute poisoning in Ethiopia. There is also limited evidence on factors associated with mortality among poisoned patients. Thus, this study aimed to determine the factors associated with mortality among acute poisoned patients at North Shewa Zone Public Hospitals, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia.

Objective: To assess the factors associated with mortality in acutely poisoned patients at North Shewa Zone Public Hospitals, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia, 2024.

Method: An institutional-based retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 268 acutely poisoned patients admitted to North Shewa Zone Public Hospitals and whose treatment outcomes registered from January 1, 2020, to April 30, 2024. The data were collected by reviewing the medical records of the patients. The collected data were entered into Epi Data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. A logistic regression model was used to assess the factors associated with death due to acute poisoning. The final results of the associations are presented as the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI). A p-value < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance.

Results: A total of 268 medical records of poisoned patients were reviewed retrospectively. Of the total admitted patients 260 (97.1%) had complete recorded information. The mortality rate in the current study was 16.2% (95% CI: 11.9–20.8). Being a rural dweller [AOR = 2.2 95% CI 2.5 –6.3], poisoning intentionally [AOR = 3.2; 95% CI: 2.5–11.2), being unconscious [AOR = 6.1 95% CI: 8.3–17.2] and time of arrival >2 hours [AOR = 8.8 95% CI: 8.3–14.2] were independently and significantly predicted mortality rate of mortality.

Conclusion: Poisoning-related mortality rate was considerable in the study area. Interventions that targeted rural communities, those self-poisoned and unconscious during admission, and late time of rival to the hospital are vital to reduce mortality related to poisoning. manner of poisoning, time of arrival and level of consciousness were found to be independent