The gender of human exposures is almost evenly divided between males and females. This is unchanged from previous years. Most of these are classified as general, as they mostly involve the pediatric exposures and do not fall into other, more specific categories. It is within this group that the majority of serious outcomes are noted. The HRPC, like most poison centers, primarily provides information on acute poisonings.
Chronic exposures tend to require more in-depth care beyond advice over the telephone.
Note that many cases involve more than a single route of exposure, causing the number of exposure routes to exceed the total number of exposure cases received. The above table lists the primary substance categories involved for each exposure type. While most cases involve an exposure to a single substance, many cases involve multiple. Intentional drug overdose is an example of multiple substances. The large percentage of exposures involving drugs is one of the reasons the center is staffed primarily by pharmacists.