[Acute drug poisonings in children in a general pediatric service (epidemiologic profile)].

Acute drug poisonings of the child is a major problem for health authorities all over the world, and are responsible for serious morbidity with mortality risks. The present retrospective study has involved 150 cases of drug poisoning observed in the Casablanca children's hospital over a period of 7 years. Most intoxication cases are accidental (84%), (mostly in children of 1 to 5 years old 74.6%), willful (11.3%), or iatrogenic (4.7%). Happening most often at home (95%) with a high frequency between 5 and 6 p.m. (24%) and 11 a 12 p.m. (13.3%), time of strong hunger. The large majority of drugs wer psychotropic agents (56%), principally diazepins (39%). Followed by oral contraceptive (8%), antihistaminics (8%), analgesics (7%), antibiotics (4%) and others (11%). Prevention is of high importance, and must be made effective on the wildest scale.