The epidemiology of poisoning from drug products

M. Saracino, J. Flowers and F. H. Lovejoy Jr

On the basis of 24,487 telephone calls to a poison control center during a one-year period, the 12 most commonly ingested drugs (accounting for 2,417 calls) were selected for study. Each agent was analyzed on the basis of (1) age of the individuals involved, (2) frequency of overdose, and (3) signs, and symptoms, and severity. These findings have implications for the diagnosis and prevention of drug overdose.