NIVEL DE CONOCIMIENTOS DEL PERSONAL MEDICO DEL HGZ/UMF No. 8 SOBRE EL MANEJO INICIAL DEL PACIENTE INTOXICADO EN EL SERVICIO DE URGENCIAS

Abstract

Nowadays, the requirements for poisoning care in medical institutions has suffered an increase; during year 2000, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported 2’168’248 poisoning cases, of which about a third was represented by the adult population. In Mexico, the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS from their initials in Spanish) reports more than one million cases due to intoxication and poisoning per year. In Mexican hospitals with access to adequate support equipments, the mortality incidence due to intoxications is of approximately 0.5%, but it can rise up to 10 to 20% if the proper treatment is not given, even with the ideal resources. Objective To determine the average knowledge level of the medical staff working at the emergency service at HGZ/UMF #8 within the initial handling of the intoxicated patient. Methods and materials Cross-sectional, descriptive and observational study, where questionnaires were applied to the medics working at the emergency of the HGZ/UMF #8 from IMSS -disregarding the academic degree- through which knowledge was assessed from each partaker regarding the initial handling of the intoxicated patient. Results A total of 95 questionnaires were applied, from which 9 were discarded, which left 86 useful questionnaires. The values obtained in the evaluation of clinical competence were: a minimum grade was 20, and a maximum of 73, with a mean of 46.94. The range found in the clinical competence evaluation was: 74% (64) was inadequate, 22.1% (19) was adequate and 3.5% (3) was good. Conclusion The knowledge level of the medical staff in the emergency service is inadequate regarding the initial handling of the intoxicated patient, for this reason, programs that improve this aspect should be implemented, therefore reduce the morbidity and mortality of this type of patient.