Poison Control and Drug Information Center: The Palestinian Experience

Background and aims: The Palestinian poison control and drug information center (PCDIC) was established in 2006 to provide up-to-date information regarding medications and help in the early diagnosis and management of poisoning cases. This manuscript summarizes the activities carried out by the PCDIC in the past two years. Methodology: Documented inquires received at the PCDIC were analyzed. Activities of the PCDIC were extracted from the files. Results: During the first two years, a total of 323 inquiries were received at the PCDIC, mainly (67.2%) from physicians. Seventy percent of calls were made from Nablus. Unintentional poisoning was the leading type of calls (62.8%) followed by suicidal poisoning (20.7%). Medications were the major category of toxicants encountered (48.9%) followed by pesticides (23.5%). In 67.9% of the cases, the calls were initiated before any treatment was provided. The advice provided by the PCDIC was based on the nature of call. During the past 2 years, the PCDIC has conducted several academic and non-academic activities. The PCDIC introduced the concept of poison prevention weeks in Palestine and has conducted two so far. The PCDIC has published several manuscripts in the fields of toxicology, rational drug use, complementary and herbal therapy, pharmacoepidemiology, and self-medication. Conclusion: Documentation of all inquiries is mandatory for analysis, evaluation, comparative purposes, and quality assurance. More advertisement is needed to encourage people to use the services provided by PCDIC.