Pakistan Public Misconceptions in Managing Suicidal Poisoning While Taking Patients to Hospital: A Survey

Abstract

Background: Deliberate self-poisoning is a major method of self-harm in Pakistan, particularly among young people, due to easy access to toxic household and agricultural substances and limited awareness regarding safe and timely emergency response. Objective: To assess the demographic characteristics, poison types, reported underlying causes, clinical outcomes, and time to hospital presentation among suicidal poisoning cases, with emphasis on the broader problem of public misconceptions during transfer to hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional observational survey was conducted on 110 participants. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire covering age, gender, residence, poison type, reported precipitating cause, clinical outcome, and time taken to reach hospital. Descriptive statistics were expressed as frequencies and percentages. Results: Females comprised 56.4% of participants, and the largest age group was 21–25 years (38.2%). Urban residents accounted for 61.8% of cases. Rat killer poison was the most common toxic agent (30.9%), followed by organophosphate pesticides (26.4%) and black stone (19.1%). Domestic or family conflict was the most frequently reported precipitating factor (35.5%), followed by relationship breakup (24.5%) and financial problems (16.4%). Most patients recovered with treatment (74.5%), while 14.5% required ICU admission, 7.3% developed complications, and 3.6% died. Only 23.6% reached hospital within one hour, whereas 76.3% presented after the first hour. Conclusion: Suicidal poisoning in this sample predominantly affected young individuals and was commonly linked to readily available toxic agents and interpersonal stressors. Delayed hospital presentation was frequent, supporting the need for public education, poison access control, and improved pre-hospital awareness to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality.