Abstract

Starting in 2016, the Ministry of Health in Mexico (MofH) has been implementing a new national program aimed to prevent the main causes of unintentional injuries, including poisoning. Since current information systems do not provide high-quality information to orient its implementation and to facilitate M and E activities, the MofH with financial support from PAHO and in coordination with the Mexican Toxicology Network conformed by 24 Poison Centres (PC) developed the SIEEI to strengthen the National Injury Observatory. The objective of this work was to analyze information generated by SIEEI during its pilot-testing on intentional and unintentional poisoning during 2017. From June to December 2017, SIEEI was pilot-tested with the support of three PC. A descriptive analyses of the 270 cases registered was conducted (77.04% were medical consultations and 22.59% telephone counseling). Differences between intentional and unintentional poisoning were evaluated using Pearson’s Chi2. Unintentional injuries represented 62.22% of cases. There were differences in terms of external cause, place of occurrence, severity and age-group amongst intentional and unintentional poisoning (all with p=0.000). There were no differences in terms of sex (p=0.996). While main causes of unintentional poisoning include contact with venomous animals (35.71%), exposition to non-pharmacology substances (28.57%) and medications (19.64%), intentional poisoning was mainly due to drugs of abuse (52.94%) and medications (36.27%). 30.95% of unintentional injuries were children (<10 years), while intentional injuries were most commonly observed in adolescents aged 10–19 (39.22%). While SIEEI pilot information is already giving very useful evidence, it has the potential of compiling data from some other PC enabling the construction of time-series to M and E. This is key to inform the implementation of the Mexican National Program for unintentional poisoning prevention in vulnerable populations. Making this information available for general population could also empower people and relevant stakeholders to push forward national efforts in the field.