Hospital mortality due to acute poisoning: EXITOX 2012

Death registers are a tool for planning public health care interventions, but data on deaths due to acute poisoning are scarce in Spain. We report a descriptive study based on a cross-section of patients who died from acute poisoning in 2012 in 8 Spanish public hospitals and whose deaths were recorded in the EXITOX register. Of the 14 registered cases, 7 (50%) were suicides; 71% were men, and the mean age was 59.1 years. Caustic substances comprised the largest category (35.7%) of toxic agents, followed by medications (21.4%), and street drugs (21.4%). The mortality rate was 0.5 deaths/100 000 inhabitants. Specific antidotes were used in 28.6% of the cases. In 71%, there was a clear relationship between death and acute poisoning. The EXITOX register, even with its limitations, seems to provide an appropriate tool for understanding mortality due to acute intoxication in Spain.