ALTHOUGH preventive pediatrics is assuming increasing importance in the care of children, the incidence of accidental poisonings in childhood is by no means diminishing. Actually an absolute as well as relative increase in the incidence of such cases has been noted among patients admitted to the university service of the Grace-New Haven Community Hospital during the past eight years.1 During 1951, 51 children were admitted to the pediatric service either because of actual poisoning or for observation after exposure to toxic substances; they constituted 5.1% of all admissions during the year.
Poisoning due to parathion, an organic phosphate insecticide, accounted for 2 of these 51 cases and was responsible for the only death due to poisoning during this time. This report is submitted because such cases present serious problems in diagnosis and therapy and have not heretofore been reported in the pediatric literature.
REPORT OF CASES
Case 1.—M. M.,