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In the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of poisoning due to the intake of alcohol-based hand sanitizers increased intentionally and unintentionally.
In the UK alone, alcohol-based hand sanitizer addiction reported to the National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) increased by 157% from January 1, 2019 to September 16, 2019 from 155 to January 1, 2020. It increased to 398 by September 14th. show.
Center for Evidence-DPhil student Georgia Richards protects children, people with dementia / confusion, people with mental disorders, and others who are at risk of unintentionally swallowing alcohol-based hand sanitizers. In order to do more, we need to do more. Faculty of Primary Care and Health Sciences, University of Oxford, UK.
“If the provider supplies alcohol-based hand sanitizers in the community to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the contents are supplied with a lockable automatic dispenser to reduce contamination and improve safety. Should be done, “Richards said. Medscape Medical News.
Research Published online December 1st Evidence-based medicine from the BMJ.
Europe and America addiction rates skyrocket
In his treatise, Richards describes two deaths in a British hospital.
In one case, a 30-year-old woman detained in a psychiatric ward receiving antidepressants Venlafaxine He was found dead in her hospital bed with a container of hand disinfectant gel next to her.
“Patients in the ward had easy access to the gel from a communal dispenser, and patients could put the gel in a cup or other container for storage in their room,” Richards reports.
Postmortem analysis detected high levels of alcohol in her blood (214 mg alcohol in 100 mL blood). The cause of medical death was described as “alcohol and venlafaxine intake”. The coroner concluded that the combination of these substances suppressed the patient’s breathing and led to her death.
Another case involved a 76-year-old man who unintentionally swallowed an unknown amount of alcohol-based hand sanitizer foam attached to a hospital bed foot.
The patient has a history of transgression and depression I was treated with antidepressants. Perhaps because of that, he has been more and more confused in the last nine months. Vascular dementia..
His blood ethanol The concentration was 463 mg / dL (100 mmol / L) initially and 354 mg / dL (77 mmol / L) after 10 hours.He was admitted to the intensive care unit and received there Lorazepam And Haloperidol I planned to treat it with a ventilator so that alcohol could be metabolized naturally.
The patient developed complications and died 6 days later.The main causes of death were bronchopneumonia and acute Alcohol toxicity, Acute secondary Delirium And Coronary artery disease..
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers have been one of the most popular products in the world since the introduction of COVID-19. Today, the amount of these products found in homes, hospitals, schools, workplaces, etc. “can be a source of concern,” Richards writes.
Still, warnings about the toxicity and lethality of intentional or unintentional ingestion of these products are not widespread, she says.
To reduce the risk of harm, Richards proposes to educate public and medical professionals, improve product warning labels, and increase awareness and reporting of such exposures to public health authorities.
“Government and public health authorities have succeeded in raising awareness and need for improved hand hygiene during the outbreak of COVID-19, but have made the public aware of the potential harm and such to the Poison Information Center. We also need to encourage reporting of harm, “she points out.
Increased alcohol-based hand sanitizer addiction during pandemics has also been reported in the United States.
The American Poison Control Center Association (AAPCC) National poison data system (NPDS) shows 32,892 hand sanitizer exposure cases reported to 55 US Toxicological Control Centers from January 1 to November 15, 2020. This is a 73% increase over the same period last year.
Increased self-harm
Dr. Robert Bassett, Deputy Medical Director of the Toxicology Center at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, Pennsylvania, said he is considering the issue. Medscape Medical News “Cleaners and disinfectants have been around for years and their potential for toxicity has not changed.”
“Currently, this over-awakening of COVID and cleanliness has increased access and increased exposure risk,” he said.
“One of the sad victims of overstressed health care systems and a globally depressed environment is exacerbating behavioral health emergencies, as part of which increases the risk of self-harm. “It’s done,” Bassett added.
“Since the beginning of COVID, there is a consensus that behavioral health emergencies and behavioral health needs have worsened, and those looking for self-harm have easy access to hand sanitizers. “He said.
There was no special funding for this study. Richards is a BMJ evidence-based medical editorial registrar Website development To track preventable deaths. Basset does not disclose any relevant financial relationships.
BMJ Evid Based Med. Published online on December 1, 2020. Full text
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