260
Views
1
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Poison Centre Research

Utilization of a poison control center by critical access hospitals—one state’s experience

ORCID Icon, , &
Pages 1015-1022 | Received 23 Dec 2020, Accepted 10 Mar 2021, Published online: 31 Mar 2021
 

Abstract

Purpose

Critical access hospitals (CAH) are an important source of exposures for poison control centers (PCC), yet there is a paucity of literature on how these calls differ from larger, more urban hospitals (UH). This study aimed to compare call characteristics from CAH and UH received by a regional PCC.

Methods

This retrospective chart review used the Toxicall® database of the Kansas PCC. All cases involving calls from a health care facility from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2017 were identified. Cases were then identified as either from a CAH or from one of the four largest UH in Kansas for comparison. CAH were defined using the criteria from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. All information was de-identified in REDCAPS and analyzed in Microsoft Excel.

Findings

A total of 12,469 unique patient cases were identified, including 6392 CAH and 6077 UH cases. Patients at UH were more likely to have longer duration of medical effects and experience more severe medical effects. Significant differences in the unique exposures, rates of intentional overdose, routes, and number of exposures were found. Patients at CAH were more likely to receive activated charcoal, flumazenil, and be transferred to another healthcare facility, but were less likely to have been referred by the PCC, need an ICU admission, or require consultation with a toxicologist.

Conclusions

PCC calls from CAHs were common and resulted in significant differences when compared to UH calls. Future research is warranted to optimize PCC services for rural hospitals.

Disclosure statement

We have no sources of funding or conflicts of interest to disclose.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 65.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 1,501.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.