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Poison Control Centers' Role in Glow Product-Related Outbreak Detection: Implications for Comprehensive Surveillance System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Alvin F. Chu ,
Steven M. Marcus  and
Bruce Ruck
Alvin F. Chu*
Affiliation:
New Jersey Poison Information and Education System
Steven M. Marcus
Affiliation:
New Jersey Poison Information and Education System Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health/Department of Pediatrics, New Jersey Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
Bruce Ruck
Affiliation:
New Jersey Poison Information and Education System
*
New Jersey Poison Information and Education System140 Bergen StreetNewark, New Jersey 07101-1709USA E-mail: achu@njpies.org
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Abstract

Introduction:

The development of syndromic surveillance systems to detect bioterrorist attacks and emerging infectious diseases has become an important and challenging goal to many governmental agencies and healthcare authorities. This study utilized the sharp increase of glow product-related calls to demonstrate the utility of poison ontrol data for early detection of potential outbreaks during the week of Halloween in 2007.

Methods:

A review was conducted of the electronic records of exposures reported to the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System NJPIES) Poison Control Hotline from 2002 through 2007 with generic code number 0201027 (glow products) set by the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC). Key information such as age, gender, time of the call, exposure reason, clinical effects, and medical outcomes along with telephone number, zip code, and county location were used in the analyses to determine the extent of the outbreak.

Results:

Analyses included a total of 139 glow product-related calls during the week of Halloween in 2007 with a single-day high of 59 calls on Halloween Day. More than 90% of the glow product exposures were in children 1–10 years of age. The glow product-related calls on Halloween Day increased from 14 calls in 2002 to 59 calls in 2007, a 321% increase during a six-year period.

Conclusions:

Poison control centers in the United States are equipped with a unique and uniform input data collection system—the National Poison Data System—that provides an important data source in the development of a comprehensive surveillance system for early outbreak detection.

Keywords

early detectionglow productsHalloweenNational Poison Data System (NPDS)New Jersey Poison Information and Education System (NJPIES)outbreakspoison control centerssyndromic surveillance system
Type
Brief Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 2009 , pp. 68 - 72
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2009

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