Exogenic poisoning in children assisted in a pediatric emergency unit

Abstract

Objective: To describe the epidemiological characteristics of all exogenic poisoning cases in children assisted in a pediatric emergency unit in Recife, State of Pernambuco, Brazil, from April to September 2006. Methods: This is a descriptive study of exogenic poisoning in 0-12 aged children treated at Centro de Assistência Toxicológica de Pernambuco (Pernambuco Toxicological Assistance Center). The data were collected through interviews and by consulting patients' records. Results: 26 cases of accidental exogenic poisoning were registered, mainly males (65.4%). Regarding age, children under five years old were the most affected (65.4%). Medication was involved in 50.0% of the cases. Conclusion: Accidental exogenic poisoning affecting children younger than five years of age stands out as a significant public health problem. As a member of a multiprofessional health team, the nurse plays an important role in health education and in the measures to prevent child poisoning.Keywords: Poisoning/epidemiology; Toxic substances; Child; Accidents, home; Accident prevention RESUMO Objetivo: Descrever as características epidemiológicas dos casos de intoxicações exógenas em crianças atendidas em uma unidade de emergência pediátrica do Recife (PE), no período de abril a setembro de 2006. Métodos: Estudo descritivo dos casos de intoxicações exógenas ocorridos em crianças na faixa etária de 0 a 12 anos de idade notificados no Centro de Assistência Toxicológica de Pernambuco. Os dados foram coletados através de entrevistas e consultas às fichas de atendimento hospitalar.Resultados: Foram registrados 26 casos de intoxicação exógena acidental. Predominou o sexo masculino (65,4%) e a faixa etária dos menores de cinco anos de idade foi a mais acometida (65,4%). Os medicamentos estavam envolvidos em 50,0% dos casos. Conclusão: A intoxicação exógena acidental de crianças, sobretudo em menores de cinco anos é um problema de saúde pública que requer medidas preventivas para evitar sua ocorrência na infância. Descritores: Envenenamento/epidemiologia; Substâncias tóxicas; Criança; Acidentes domésticos; Prevenção de acidentes RESUMEN Objetivo: Describir las características epidemiológicas de los casos de intoxicaciones exógenas en niños atendidos en una unidad de emergencia pediátrica de Recife (PE), en el período de abril a setiembre del 2006. Métodos: Se trata de un estudio descriptivo de los casos de intoxicaciones exógenas ocurridos en niños del grupo etáreo de 0 a 12 años de edad notificados en el Centro de Asistencia Toxicológica de Pernambuco. Los datos fueron recolectados a través de entrevistas y consultas a las fichas de atención hospitalaria.Resultados: Fueron registrados 26 casos de intoxicación exógena accidental. Predominó el sexo masculino (65,4%) siendo el grupo etáreo de menores de cinco años de edad el más afectado (65,4%). Los medicamentos estaban involucrados en el 50,0% de los casos. Conclusión: La intoxicación exógena accidental de niños, sobre todo en menores de cinco años es un problema de salud pública que...

Children's Environment in Brazil: From Domestic (Indoor) to Regional Threats

“…Pesticides were the second toxic agent (55.5%) found in the study [26,27,29,30,31], and poisoning was generally accidental in children and intentional in adolescents. In both cases the home was the locus of such occurrences.…”

“…The medication was the toxic agent most commonly found in the research with 77.7% of the studies. Included antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic and antiparkinsonian drugs [28,29], bronchodilators [29], imidazole derivatives [33] and painkillers [32,34]. There is also the hypothesis of medication poisoning through transplacental transmission and breast-feeding in children less than one month of age [28].…”

“…Ease of access to those products was essential for selfharm and the adult's presence did not prevent the occurrence of intoxication [26,29,30,32]. Vomiting and somnolence were considered a common clinical manifestation on children seen on hospital units [30] and infant deaths were reported as a complication of acute intoxication to toxic agents [28,29,34].…”

“…Vomiting and somnolence were considered a common clinical manifestation on children seen on hospital units [30] and infant deaths were reported as a complication of acute intoxication to toxic agents [28,29,34].…”

Percepción de riesgo sobre lesiones no intencionales en niños y niñas, México

“…En este estudio se explora y analiza la percepción de riesgo de cuidadores cuyos hijos e hijas fueron hospitalizados a consecuencia de alguna lesión no intencional sufrida. La primera causa de muerte, en menores de cinco años, son las lesiones no intencionales (Atak, Karaoglu, Korkmaz, & Usubutun, 2010;Lourenço, Furtado, & Bonfim, 2008). En cualquier tipo de lesión no intencional, se considera que es posible la prevención; no obstante, la percepción del riesgo que se tenga sobre estos puede llegar a modificar la conducta preventiva (Leeberk, Anuradha, Kuryan, & Anuratha, 2017).…”