Pattern of Deliberate Self-Poisoning in Gorgan, North of Iran

Background: Suicide is a global public health problem. Deliberate Self-Poisoning (DSP) is one of the most common methods of suicide in many countries. This study was designed to identify the trends and characteristics of DSP in Gorgan.Methods: The study was carried out retrospectively in 5 Azar Hospital. It included 549 patients who were hospitalized in the hospital due to DSP from March 2008 to March 2015. Data were obtained from medical records. Stata software and Pearson's chi-squared test were used for data analysis.Results: Of 549 patients, 51% were females and 50.27% were aged 20–29 years. The majority of patients (76.68%) lived in urban areas. Poisoning occurred mostly in summer and the peak was observed in August. Most of the poisoning agents were pharmaceuticals (80.51%). Among the pharmaceuticals, benzodiazepines were involved most often. Overall, 21 patients (3.83%) died. The highest number of deaths was due to aluminum phosphide poisoning (76.19%). In addition, family quarrel was the main cause of DSP (43.17%). There were significant differences between the causes of DSP and demographics. Characteristics including gender, age groups, marital status, employment status and educational status.Conclusion: Deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) with drugs has recently been a serious social problem, especially in the younger generation in Gorgan and there is an urgent need for a prevention plan

Clinical and paraclinical Evaluation of locally administered phenytoin as an antimicrobial agent in periodontal surgeries

As special microbial species are identified as etiologic factors for periodontal diseases and since conventional periodontal treatments could not eliminate these factors, Using Antimicrobial agents as alternatives to prevent  post operation  infections seems essential. In This study Phenytoin (Gel 10%) was used as an topical antimicrobial agent in periodontal surgeries. 21 patients with advanced periodontal disease were selected. Sampling was carried out before and after the surgery. The results showed that phenytoin can act effectively on gram positive and negative cocci while this concentration was not effective to eliminate opportunistic gram negative bacilli

Characteristics of patients hospitalized with tramadol intoxication in Gorgan, Iran, 2008 - 2015

Background and purpose: Tramadol intoxication is a common medical emergency and a major public health problem around the world. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of intoxicated cases with tramadol in Gorgan, Iran. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study of patients with acute tramadol intoxication was done in individuals attending 5 Azar Hospital in Gorgan, during March 2008 to March 2016. Data was collected from patients records and then analyzed in SPSS V.16. Results: Tramadol intoxication included 20.3 of the total drug poisonings. From 168 cases with tramadol intoxication 75.6 were males. The mean age of the cases was 24.78±16.26 years and a high rate of poisoning was seen in those aged 21-30 years old (47). The majority of the cases were from urban areas (82.1) and they were mainly single (64.3). The seasonal distribution in our patients showed a peak in autumn (19.6). Suicide attempt was the main cause of tramadol intoxication (65.5) followed by tramadol abuse (31.5) (P<0.001). Among the subjects 30.4 had co-ingested tramadol with other drugs particularly benzodiazepines (40). Seizure was reported in 31.5 of the cases and its occurrence was significantly higher in males (P<0.001). Conclusion: In current study, suicide attempt and drug abuse were the most common causes of tramadol intoxication that were seen most commonly among single men who were less than 30 years of age. © 2017, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved

Epidemiological survey of suicide attempt by drug poisoning in Gorgan, Iran, 2008 to 2015

Background and purpose: Intentional drug poisoning is one of the most common methods of suicide attempt. The purpose of this study was to determine the demographic characteristics of suicide attempters and identifying the pattern of intentional drug poisoning. Materials and methods: We conducted a descriptive-analytical study in which data was collected from the medical records of suicide attempts by drug poisoning in 5Azar Hospital in Gorgan, Iran, 2008-2015. Data was analyzed by Stata V.11 and Pearson’s Chi-squared test. Results: During these seven years, 442 cases of suicide attempts by drug poisoning were recorded in which there were 244 (55.2%) females and 229 individuals (51.8%) aged 20–29 years. Their mean age was 24.54 ± 8.14 and the majority (79%) lived in urban areas. Also, 224 (55.2%) patients were single and 248 (56.1%) had high school education. Poisoning occurred mostly in summer (28.7%). Among the pharmaceuticals, sedative-hypnotic drugs especially benzodiazepines were used more often (47.5%) followed by narcotic drugs (26.5%) and antidepressants (17.4%). Death occurred in three patients (0.68%) died. Family quarrel was found to be the main cause of suicide attempts (46.8%). Conclusion: Sedative-hypnotic drugs especially benzodiazepines were the most common agents used in intentional drug poisoning that were seen most commonly among younger individuals, single persons and people with family quarrel. © 2016, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All Rights reserved

Epidemiology of death caused by carbon monoxide poisoning in Golestan province, Iran, 2010-2015

Background and purpose: Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the most common causes of death due to poisoning in Iran. This study is an epidemiological survey of death due to CO poisoning in Golestan province, Iran. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on all profiles of referential bodies to Golestan Department of Forensic Medicine who died due to CO poisoning between 2010 and 2015. Data, including information on demography, poisoning and death condition, were analyzed using SPSS V16. Results: A total of 420 deaths was recorded due to poisoning, of whom 59 (14%) died from CO poisoning which was the third cause of death after opium and rice tablet. The CO poisoning cases included 71.2% (n=42) males. The cases were mainly aged 20–39 years (67.8%, n=40), 64.4% (n=38) were married, and 72.9% (n=43) lived in urban areas. Poisoning occurred mostly in winter (49.2%, n=29). Most CO poisoning incidents happened at home (62.7%, n=37) especially in living room (44.1%, n=26) and bathroom (13.6%, n=8), and gas heaters were the source of poisoning in majority of cases (37.3%, n=22). Conclusion: CO was the third cause of death due to poisoning in Golestan province that was found to be more common among men and in homes with gas heaters. So, more attention on safety of gas heaters and other sources of CO generation is needed especially in winter and residential places without suitable ventilation. © 2017, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved