Introduction: Poisons information centres provide phone-based risk assessment and management advice on poisonings. Unintentional poisonings are a common reason for consulting a poisons information centre, and older adults are at increased risk of unintentional poisoning and adverse outcomes. We describe patterns of unintentional poisoning in older adults reported to a regional poisons information centre.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective audit of poisons information centre call records and identified unintentional poisonings involving older adults (≥75 years) over a 12-month period to determine patient demographics and poisoning circumstances (substances, contributing factors, and disposition recommendation). Univariate analyses identified variables associated with hospital referral and multivariate models to identify independent risk factors in home-dwelling older adults.
Results: We identified 2,757 calls. More exposures occurred in women (62%) and involved therapeutic errors (70.8%). Paracetamol was the most common drug involved (11%), and cardiovascular drugs were the most common drug class (36%). Only 14.3% of the study population was referred to hospital. Independent risk factors for hospital referral in home-dwelling older adults were exposure to cardiovascular, centrally acting and antihyperglycaemics, non-oral route of administration and symptoms at the time of the call.
Discussion: Unintentional poisoning is not uncommon, and our findings are similar to those in other countries over recent decades. These findings suggest that unintentional poisoning in older adults is inadequately addressed by current medication safety strategies. Our findings indicate the value of timely advice by poisons information centres for preventing potentially unnecessary hospitalizations.
Conclusion: Further research is needed to identify more effective approaches to medication safety strategies for older adults. Poisons information centre data contribute to pharmacovigilance activities and could inform patient care.
Keywords: Elderly; geriatrics; medication errors; older adults; pharmacovigilance; poisons information centre; therapeutic errors; unintentional poisoning.