In Hong Kong, acute poisoning due to drugs or chemicals is common, accounting for 4,800-5,500 hospital admissions each year and 5% of the acute admissions to medical wards. The overall fatality rate has increased steadily from 3.4% in 1992, 4.8% in 1995, 7.3% in 1998, 9.4% in 2001 and 9.9% in 2002. Apart from drug overdose, adverse drug reactions and ineffective treatment due to poor patient compliance or inappropriate changes in drug therapy are important causes of acute medical admissions.
Since 1988, the Drug and Poisons Information Bureau, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, has been studying the incidence and pattern of poisoning and drug-related problems in Hong Kong. During 1992-1993, 88 (9.5%) of 925 patients were admitted to two medical wards of the Prince of Wales Hospital because of drug-related problems - adverse drug reactions (57 patients), drug poisoning (22 patients) and treatment failure (9 patients). The most important adverse drug reactions were gastrointestinal haemorrhage (21 patients) and hypoglycaemia (14 patients). In 1994, 719 adults and 56 children were admitted to a general hospital because of acute poisoning. Important agents involved included sedatives/hypnotics, analgesics/antipyretics, alcohol and household products. During 1994-1998, 339 subjects died from self-poisoning in Hong Kong. The agents involved were drugs of abuse (11.8%), therapeutic drugs (34.8%), household products (6.5%), pesticides (16.2%) and carbon monoxide and liquefied petroleum gas (21.5%).
A poison control centre plays a major role in reducing the morbidity and mortality by providing poison information and advice, management of poisoning cases, laboratory analytical services, surveillance of poisoning, research and education and training in the prevention and treatment of poisoning.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong organised the First Joint Conference of Chinese Poison Centers today for leading experts from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Taiwan and Hong Kong to meet with health care professionals and food scientists to discuss the management and prevention of food poisoning. Officiated at the ceremony were Dr. York Y. N. Chow, Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and Professor Lawrence J. Lau, Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University. Dr. Chengye Sun, Deputy Director of National Poison Control Center, China CDC, Dr. Jou-Fang Deng, President, Asia-Pacific Association of Medical Toxicology, Dr. Liang Chen, Deputy Director of Shanghai Poison Control Center and Dr. Hanlin Huang, Director of Poison Control Center of Guangdong Province attended the ceremony.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Medicine established the Drug and Poisons Information Bureau in 1988 which provides a drug and poisons information service to the whole of Hong Kong and the Drug Development Centre in 2000 to evaluate old drugs and develop new drugs. The Faculty of Science set up the Research Laboratory for Food Science, Research Laboratory for Food Protein Production and UGC-AoE Plant and Fungal Biotechnology Centre for research on food sciences. Recently the Centre for Food and Drug Safety was established to strengthen the work in food and drug safety.
The one-day conference covered common food poisonings in the Chinese community. Poisoning, drug-related problems and food safety concern us all because of their potential impact on public health. Collaboration with other Chinese poison centres to allow exchange of drug and poison information is also important because of the high frequency of travel within the region. This First Joint Conference signified the commencement of closer collaboration among the Chinese poison centres and joint efforts of the Government, health care professionals and scientists to facilitate toxicovigilance, poison control and staff training.
