Services and Statistics Pittsburgh Poison Center

U.S. Poison Center Access Common Telephone Number:

Evolution of Poison Centers : home poison fatalities/year; 33% less than 4 y/o 1953: First Poison Center 1958: AAPCC 1970: Poison Prevention Packaging Act 1971: Mr. Yuk 1978: 800 Poison Centers 2016: 55 Poison Centers

PPC Mission Statement To promote the reduction of morbidity and mortality from poisonings through the dissemination of poison information and treatment advice, public and professional education and scientific research

PPC Services AAPCC Certified Regional Center (1) Managing Director + (1) Medical Director (13) Specialists in Poison Information – Nationally certified – Nurses at PPC; other Centers have pharmacists 24/7 service Immediate access to toxicologists Funded primarily by federal/state grants, industry clients

PPC Service Area PPC Service Region: 5.9 million residents >30,000 sq. miles

PPC: Types of Calls Exposures (human and animal) Information Treatment Recommendations Adverse Reactions

Who calls the PPC? General public Physicians Nurses Pharmacists Paramedics Veterinarians Urgent Care Centers Police Fire Services Prison Officials Coroners Attorneys Industry Clients – PCC has (7) industry clients

Most Common Substances All Poisonings Analgesics Cosmetics Cleaning Products Sedatives Foreign Bodies Cough/Cold Medications Topicals Pesticides Antidepressants Envenomation/Bites Pediatric Poisonings Cosmetics Cleaning Products Analgesics Foreign Bodies Topicals Cough/Cold Medications Plants Pesticides Vitamins Antidepressants

Call Volume/Month CY15

Calls/Hour CY15

Age Distribution CY15

PPC Facts: Call Volume CY15 Exposures39,087 Information13,843 TOTAL EXP + INFO52,930 Follow-ups34,047 Drug ID400 GRAND TOTAL87,377

PPC Facts: Overall Trends Busiest Month Overall:July (9.44%) Busiest Month (Exposures):July (7.08%) Busiest Month (Information):January (3.07%) Busiest Day of the Week:Wednesday (15.35%) Busiest Hour:8pm (6.68%) 47.8% of exposures occurred in children 5 years of age or younger 30% of exposures occurred in children between the ages of 1 and 2 PPC managed 2,869 animal exposures PPC staff has an average of 14 years experience (1-37 years)

Mr. Yuk Facts Created in 1971 in Pittsburgh Replaced the skull and crossbones symbol – Which was similar to the Pittsburgh Pirates logo Use has evolved since created A symbol must be taught in order to be effective!

Public Health Events: OTC Literacy

BROCHURES ACTIVITY ITEMS AWARENESS TOOLS MR. YUK-POISON HELP TATTOOS Public Awareness PPC distributes over 2 million Mr. Yuk stickers a year

Toxicosurveillance AAPCC: National Poison Data System (NPDS) – Comprehensive Database – Collects Poison Center information from all U.S. Centers – Uploads every 8 minutes

Benefits of a Poison Center Poison Centers save lives – Experts in toxicology available 24/7 – Identification of trends in poisonings – Distribute information to the general public and health care professionals Poison Centers decrease healthcare costs – Almost all cases are treated from home – Nationally, save $1.8 billion annually $760 million from Medicare/Medicaid – In PA, save over $30 million annually