The authors discuss unintentional poisonings, the influence of growth and development, therapeutic errors, commonly ingested substances, and the role of healthcare providers.

Despite advances such as child-proof caps on medications, childproof packaging, increased educational efforts, and increased awareness of commonly ingested substances, deaths due to unintentional poisonings still occur. Unintentional poisonings are an unfortunate and usually preventable cause of death and disability in infants and children. According to Litovitz et al,1 in the 2001 annual report of the American Association of Poison Control Centers, children aged 12 years and younger accounted for 58.5% of persons poisoned and accounted for 3.5% (38) of all the deaths due to poisoning reported that year. Many categories or classifications of potentially toxic substances can be found within a child’s environment. The most common categories of agents ingested by children younger than 6 years old during 2001 are listed in Table 1. Table...

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