engleski

Plant poisoning reported to the Croatian Poison Control Centre during a ten-year period (2010-2019)

Published data on human plant poisonings in Croatia are scarce. Therefore, a retrospective review of plant exposures during a ten-year period (from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2019) from telephone consultations with the Croatian Poison Control Centre (CPCC) was performed with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the general characteristics of thepoisoned patients. We identified a total of 803 cases ; the median age was 2 years (2 months-83 years), 70.8 % being preschool children, 52.7 % male. Ingestion (90.9 %) and dermal exposure (3.86 %) accounted for most of the cases. As for plant origin, 35.2 % were house plants (mostly Alocasia odora, Dieffenbachia and Ficus sp.), 33.9 % garden plants (mostly Nerium oleander and Prunus laurocerasus) and 15.4 % wild plants (mostly Arum maculatum and Colchicum autumnale). In general, Alocasia odora (15.8 %) and Nerium oleander (10.1 %) were most commonly involved. In 19.5% of cases there was exposure to berries, seeds or fruits. The majority of exposures were unintentional (95.7 %), with an additional 13 suicide attempts (mostly Nerium oleander) and 15 abuse cases (mostly Hyoscyamus sp.). Mild symptoms developed in 39.3 % and severe symptoms developed in 3.2 % of patients. There were three fatal outcomes following ingestion of Colchicum autumnale. Cases were reported mostly during summer (39.2 %). In conclusion, plant exposures were typically unintentional ingestions of house or garden plants in preschool children, although serious morbidity occurred with exposure to wild plants. The need for education on how to prevent such unnecessary incidents is indicated.

Alocasia odora ; Colchicum autumnale ; Nerium oleander ; poison control ; poisonous plants

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