Poison Center Statistics
Information or statistics on poisoning in Kentucky may be available upon request. The following includes the most requested statistics. For additional information, contact the administration office.
Poison Center Fast Facts
- Each year, an estimated one million children younger than 6 years old eat or drink poisonous substances. Most poisonings are unintentional and caused by common household items like medicines, cosmetics, cleaning products and houseplants.
- In 2006, there were more than 68,000 calls to the Kentucky Regional Poison Center Hotline. That's an average of more than 186 calls every day. Of these calls, more than 46,500 were about human poisonings. This amounts to a human poisoning in Kentucky every 11 minutes.
- More than 29,000 of these poisonings occurred in children, of which more than 23,000 were in children younger than 6 years old. This means there is a poisoned child in Kentucky every 20 minutes!
- The poison center was able to manage 73 percent of the patients without referring them to a hospital, saving Kentucky residents more than $10 million dollars in health care costs annually. These savings come from fewer trips to the emergency room, a decrease in injuries and less time lost from work. In addition, those patients treated in a hospital who consulted the poison center have an average reduced hospital stay by one day and reduced hospital bills by $1,000 per patient.
Types of Calls Received by the KRPC
|
Information requests
|
19,304
|
21,979
|
24,523
|
28,120
|
27,457
|
|
Animal poisonings
|
1,975
|
2,123
|
1,979
|
2,179
|
2,064
|
|
Pediatric poisonings
(<18 years of age)
|
29,688
(64%)
|
29,806
(64%)
|
28,995
(64%)
|
29,658
(64%)
|
29,447
(64%)
|
|
Adult Poisonings
(>18 years of age)
|
16,743
(36%)
|
16,849
(36%)
|
16,319
(36%)
|
17,263
(36%)
|
17,178
(36%)
|
|
Total calls received
|
67,710
|
71,156
|
71,953
|
77,220
|
76,146
|
Location of Treatment of Poisoned Patients Managed by the KRPC
|
Managed on-site/
non-health care facility
|
34,422
(74.1 %)
|
34,510
(73.6 %)
|
33,435
(73.8 %)
|
33,929
(72.6 %)
|
33,650
(72.5 %)
|
|
Managed in a
health care facility
|
11,112
(23.9 %)
|
11,355
(24.2 %)
|
10,938
(24.1 %)
|
11,908
(25.5 %)
|
11,879
(25.6 %)
|
|
Refused referral/
unknown
|
897
(1.9%)
|
1,022
(2.2%)
|
941
(2.1%)
|
909
(1.9%)
|
965
(2%)
|
Top 10 Categories - Most Frequent Human Exposures (All Ages)
|
Pain relievers
(Tylenol, aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.)
|
5,147
|
5,210
|
5,129
|
5,620
|
5,535
|
|
Cleaning substances
(household)
|
4,249
|
4,235
|
3,857
|
4,016
|
3,977
|
|
Personal care products
(perfumes, cosmetics, etc.)
|
3,972
|
4,067
|
3,770
|
4,158
|
4,079
|
|
Cough/cold products
and antihistamines
|
3,781
|
3,702
|
3,862
|
3,891
|
4,250
|
|
Plants and mushrooms
|
2,043
|
1,710
|
1,604
|
1,433
|
1,457
|
|
Bites and stings
|
1,875
|
1,954
|
1,703
|
1,827
|
1,594
|
|
Foreign bodies
|
2,211
|
2,204
|
2,260
|
2,340
|
2,393
|
|
Sedatives/hypnotic
|
2,799
|
2,966
|
3,155
|
3,421
|
3,317
|
|
Food poisoning
|
1,360
|
1,266
|
1,211
|
1,411
|
1,339
|
|
Hydrocarbons
(gasoline, kerosene, etc.)
|
1,461
|
1,288
|
1,182
|
1,208
|
1,302
|
|
Insecticides and rat poisons
|
1,861
|
2,113
|
1,911
|
2,562
|
2,443
|
|
