The Poison Control Center closely monitors the calls received each year, tracking the volume, reasons for exposure, top substances involved in poisonings and poison-associated fatalities. This data helps us identify poisoning trends and risks to the public, knowledge that informs community education, awareness and treatment efforts. The following data is based on calls to the Poison Control Center from 2015. Calls to the Poison Control Center The Poison Control Center receives thousands of calls each year from residents in Eastern Pennsylvania, the greater Philadelphia area and Delaware. In 2016, the Poison Control Center received nearly 92,000 calls about poison concerns from the public. The charts below detail the breakdown of these calls. Poison Control Center Call Volume by Call TypeTotal: 64,741 Human Exposures (55,596 cases) Information Calls (8,163 cases) Animal Exposures (863 cases) Other* (119 cases)*Confirmed Non-Exposures The number of calls, by call type, received by the Poison Control Center in 2015. Poison Control Center call volume by location The following tables show the geographic breakdown of calls to the Poison Control Center in 2015, by state and county. Pennsylvania (eastern counties) County No. Berks 2,328 Bucks 3,872 Carbon 252 Chester 3,088 Columbia 284 Dauphin 1,525 Delaware 4,149 Lackawanna 1,330 Lancaster 2,827 Lebanon 705 Lehigh 1,690 Luzerne 1,391 Monroe 865 Montgomery 5,293 Northampton 1,402 Northumberland 399 Philadelphia 12,058 Schuylkill 618 Susquehanna 147 Wayne 277 Wyoming 149 York 2,344 PA Other 2,441 (not specified) 2,196 Delaware County No. Kent 1,059 New Castle 3,577 Sussex 1,198 (not specified) 104 Poison exposure statistics The Poison Control Center works to reduce the number of injuries and deaths associated with poison exposures. In order to achieve this goal and effectively educate the public on poisoning prevention and awareness, it is critical for our toxicology experts to identify new toxic threats and track poisoning epidemics. We collect this data as part of a national, real-time surveillance system. Tracking this information helps us understand the common causes of poison exposures in both children and adults, and why these exposures happen, so that we can focus our efforts on prevention. Reasons for exposure Humans are exposed to poison for a variety of reasons. While some exposures are intentional, the majority of poisonings are unintentional, and can be caused by a variety of substances. Human Poison Exposures by ReasonTotal: 55,714 Unintentional (46,175) Intentional (7,738) Adverse Reaction (1,179) Other (383) Unknown (239) Reasons for human poison exposures in 2015, calculated by number and type of calls that came in to the Poison Control Center. Many of the unintentional exposures involve children under 6 years of age. Young kids like to explore their environment and imitate adult behaviors, which is why it’s important to keep medications and chemicals locked up tight, out of sight and out of reach of kids. Top substances involved in poisoning exposures Each year, the Poison Control Center documents the substances involved in poisoning exposures and collects this data. Knowing what substances are causing the most poisonings in both children and adults helps us identify new threats, improve our public education and tailor the poison-specific information we provide to healthcare professionals and public health agencies. The following tables compare the most common substances involved in poison exposures in kids versus adults based on calls to the Poison Control Center in 2015. Top 5 Substances in Kids <5 years of AgeCosmetics/personal care products4,356Cleaning substances (household)3,062Pain Medications2,617Foreign bodies/toys/miscellaneous2,103Topical Medications1,500 Top 5 Substances in Adults >20 years of AgePain Medications2,834Sedative/Hypnotics/Antipsychotics2,538Antidepressants1,730Cleaning substances (household)1,617Antimicrobials1,505 Drug exposures The heroin epidemic is impacting millions of Americans each day. The number of heroin-related calls that the Poison Control Center has received has been steadily increasing over the past 5 years. Heroin Calls - Exposures and Information Calls Received Use of synthetic drugs has also become increasingly popular in recent years, and in 2015 THC homologs (also known as synthetic marijuana) topped the charts for exposures to this broad class of substances. Serious harm has occurred with THC homologs use, including the need for intubation and even death. Synthetic Drug Exposure by TypeTotal: 347 THC Homologs (296 cases) Molly/MDMA (34 cases) Bath Salts (17 cases) The number of synthetic drug exposures, by type, received by the Poison Control Center in 2015. Previous statistics and trends Download previous annual reports to find poison statistics and trends from past years based on data collected by the Poison Control Center. 2014 2013
Poison Control Center Call Volume by Call TypeTotal: 64,741 Human Exposures (55,596 cases) Information Calls (8,163 cases) Animal Exposures (863 cases) Other* (119 cases)*Confirmed Non-Exposures The number of calls, by call type, received by the Poison Control Center in 2015.
Pennsylvania (eastern counties) County No. Berks 2,328 Bucks 3,872 Carbon 252 Chester 3,088 Columbia 284 Dauphin 1,525 Delaware 4,149 Lackawanna 1,330 Lancaster 2,827 Lebanon 705 Lehigh 1,690 Luzerne 1,391 Monroe 865 Montgomery 5,293 Northampton 1,402 Northumberland 399 Philadelphia 12,058 Schuylkill 618 Susquehanna 147 Wayne 277 Wyoming 149 York 2,344 PA Other 2,441 (not specified) 2,196 Delaware County No. Kent 1,059 New Castle 3,577 Sussex 1,198 (not specified) 104
Human Poison Exposures by ReasonTotal: 55,714 Unintentional (46,175) Intentional (7,738) Adverse Reaction (1,179) Other (383) Unknown (239) Reasons for human poison exposures in 2015, calculated by number and type of calls that came in to the Poison Control Center.
Top 5 Substances in Kids <5 years of AgeCosmetics/personal care products4,356Cleaning substances (household)3,062Pain Medications2,617Foreign bodies/toys/miscellaneous2,103Topical Medications1,500 Top 5 Substances in Adults >20 years of AgePain Medications2,834Sedative/Hypnotics/Antipsychotics2,538Antidepressants1,730Cleaning substances (household)1,617Antimicrobials1,505
Synthetic Drug Exposure by TypeTotal: 347 THC Homologs (296 cases) Molly/MDMA (34 cases) Bath Salts (17 cases) The number of synthetic drug exposures, by type, received by the Poison Control Center in 2015.