Evaluation of Inflammatory Markers (C-Reactive Protein, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate) and Complete Blood Count in Children Poisoning

Background and Aim: Poisoning is one of the most important accidental injuries in childhood, which is associated with significant mortality and morbidity. This study was conducted to evaluate the level of two inflammatory factors, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) and C-Reactive Protein (CRP), as well as Complete Blood Count (CBC) changes in various childhood poisonings. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, all children aged 1-14 years who were admitted to the emergency and poisoning departments between November 2020 and October were evaluated. A checklist including the patient's demographic information, clinical symptoms at the first visit, and paraclinical measures was completed for patients. After collecting the data, the results were analyzed in 4 groups Results: A total of 151 patients with an average age of 56/1±47/44 months were included in the study, of which 81 (53.6%) were male. The most common cause of poisoning in children studied was drugs (76/8 %). There was a significant difference between the time between poisoning and the appearance of symptoms and the time between poisoning and going to the emergency room between patients with different causes of poisoning (P=0.00) and children with drug poisoning were brought to the emergency room with a longer time interval. The level of CRP in patients poisoned with drugs was lower than its level in patients poisoned with chemicals and patients with bites (P=0/007). The number of White Blood Cells (WBCs) in patients poisoned with drugs was significantly lower than in patients poisoned with chemicals and patients with bites (P<0.001). But there was no significant difference in ESR level in poisoned patients with different causes (P=0.219). Conclusion: The results showed that the level of ESR and CRP in poisoned children did not increase significantly at the time of referral. However, leukocytosis was observed in most of the patients with bites and chemical poisoning.