Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2026 Mar 25:1-7. doi: 10.1080/15563650.2026.2639572. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: United Kingdom poison centres handle 40,000 telephone enquiries annually, and of these, follow-up is required for enquiries with a ‘severe’ Poisoning Severity Score or where requested by a clinical toxicologist. We sought to determine the resources required to expand the existing follow-up criteria in our centre to all cases with a Poisoning Severity Score ≥ ‘minor’. We also sought to characterise the follow-up process including comparing the number of follow-up calls and length of time spent per case and assessing these against patient demographics. Our third objective was to survey the experiences of Specialists in Poisons Information during their undertaking of additional follow-up activities.
METHODS: We prospectively followed-up cases from hospitals between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025. Follow-up calls were made by Specialists in Poisons Information who documented the number of follow-up calls made and the total time spent on follow-up activities for each case. Data were analysed in Microsoft Excel® and statistical tests performed in Python 3.10.
RESULTS: Our centre received 2,708 enquiries from hospitals, of which 1,352 met the inclusion criteria for enhanced follow-up. In total 3,845 outbound follow-up calls were placed lasting a total of 28,934 minutes, equating to 2.8 follow-ups lasting 21.4 minutes per case. There was a significant difference in both the median number of follow-up calls per case and the total time spent depending on the initial Poisoning Severity Score.
DISCUSSION: Enquiry follow-up is resource intensive, but our findings are broadly similar to those from other poison centres. Substantial improvement in the number of outcomes can be achieved but further work is required to understand whether resourcing pressures can be mitigated through other technologies such as artificial intelligence.
CONCLUSIONS: Specialists in Poisons Information spend in excess of one hour per week each on follow-up activities. The amount of work varies in accordance with case severity, but additional outcome data is considered valuable.
PMID:41879708 | DOI:10.1080/15563650.2026.2639572
