TY - JOUR
T1 - Patterns of Calling Time and Ipecac Availability Among Poison Center Callers
AU - Amitai, Yona
AU - Mitchell, Allen
AU - Carrel, Jade C.
AU - Luciw, Helen
AU - Lovejoy, Frederick H.
PY - 1987/6
Y1 - 1987/6
N2 - Over a one-month period all telephone calls from the public to a regional poison center were analyzed. The proportion of early calls decreased with age. Late calls were significantly associated with higher hospital referral rates when compared with earlier calls in children younger than 5 years and adults Ipecac was available in 59% of the homes of callers with children younger than 5 years. Hospital referrals were significantly less common among children who had ipecac at home compared with children who did not (3%). While the availabilty of ipecac was similar among callers and a matched sample of households who previously called the poison center (58%), ipecac was much less frequently available (24%) among households whose members had not previously called the center. These data infer that educating the public to call the poison center promptly may result in reduction of hospital referrals. Poison education efforts should be targeted to populations with low ipecac availability and low utilization of the poison center.
AB - Over a one-month period all telephone calls from the public to a regional poison center were analyzed. The proportion of early calls decreased with age. Late calls were significantly associated with higher hospital referral rates when compared with earlier calls in children younger than 5 years and adults Ipecac was available in 59% of the homes of callers with children younger than 5 years. Hospital referrals were significantly less common among children who had ipecac at home compared with children who did not (3%). While the availabilty of ipecac was similar among callers and a matched sample of households who previously called the poison center (58%), ipecac was much less frequently available (24%) among households whose members had not previously called the center. These data infer that educating the public to call the poison center promptly may result in reduction of hospital referrals. Poison education efforts should be targeted to populations with low ipecac availability and low utilization of the poison center.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0023255766&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1001/archpedi.1987.04460060040028
DO - 10.1001/archpedi.1987.04460060040028
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C2 - 2883880
AN - SCOPUS:0023255766
SN - 0002-922X
VL - 141
SP - 622
EP - 625
JO - American Journal of Diseases of Children
JF - American Journal of Diseases of Children
IS - 6
ER -