Citation

Marcus SM, Chafee-Bahamon C, Arnold VW, Lovejoy FH. Am. J. Dis. Child. (1960) 1984; 138(11): 1010-1013.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1984, American Medical Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

6496417

Abstract

Poisoning of young children frequently results in parents seeking help. Parents either telephone for poison treatment information or go directly to a physician's office, hospital clinic, or emergency room. To determine if a regional poison control system reduces the inappropriate use of medical treatment services, parents attending suburban and inner-city clinics were presented hypothetical pediatric poisoning episodes and asked how they would respond. Parents living in a state serviced by a regional poison information center (Massachusetts) telephoned for information significantly more often and consequently used medical treatment services 19% less than did parents living in a state with only local poison information centers (New Jersey). In both states, inner-city populations went for care whereas suburban populations called. Both inner-city and suburban populations responded to a regional poison center but to a different extent. More severe ingestions tended to increase the use of the regional center by the Massachusetts suburban population, whereas other populations tended to use even more direct services.

Language: en