Perfil dos eventos tóxicos envolvendo crianças registrados em um centro de assistência toxicológica em Fortaleza-CE

Abstract

The accidents among children occur very frequently and they contribute to increase the infant mortality rate. In this context, poisonings reach an alarming dimension and represent one of the main kinds of accident involving children. This study aimed at describing the profile of the poisonings, involving children from 0 to 12 years old, notified at the Center of Toxicological Assistance of the Dr. José Frota Institute, in the year of 2011. It is a study with an epidemiological, descriptive and retrospective feature, with a quantitative approach. Among 3225 notifications of attending, 454 cases (14,1%) involving children were registered. The analysis, making use of Epi lnfo, demonstrated that most of the children live in the urban zone, in which 398 (87,7%) were from Fortaleza, Ceará. Their homes were the place where most of the cases occurred, which were 428 (94,3%). The main kind of exposure was through bites, with 289 notifications (63,7%). In most of the cases, 338 (74,4%), the time passed since the exposure up to the attending of the child varied from 0 to 5 hours and in 325 (71,6%) cases, there were manifestations of signs and symptoms of poisoning. Among the toxins, the main agent involved in the toxic events was the scorpion, with 302 cases (49,3%). The individual accident was the most frequent circumstance, with 302 cases (99%). Among the toxins, the medicine was responsible for the highest number of toxic events, with 55 cases (36,9%), in which the circumstance of individual accident was also the most frequent, with 49 cases (35%).The main medicine involved was haloperidol (an anti-psychotic), responsible for 11 cases (20%), followed by apevitin (an appetite estimulator) with 8 cases (14,5%). The children of male gender presented higher involvement in toxic events, with 240 cases (52,9%).The was no difference related to gender for the toxic events caused by scorpions. Both contributed with 112 notifications. However, non-poisonous animals were the second highest cause in the female gender, with 28 cases (13,1%), followed by misuse of medicine, with 22 cases (10,3%), while for the male gender were misuse of medicine, with 33 cases (13,8%), followed by poisonous animals, with 28 cases (11,7%). The age group which contributed the most was from 0 to 3 years old, with 182 cases (40%). The identification and description of the epidemiological characteristics of the cases of exogenous poisoning in childhood are of essential importance to the plan of treatment and to the planning of prevention measures.