Intoxicacion aguda por plaguicidas

Abstract

Objective. To describe the epidemiologic pattern of acute pesticide poisoning (APP) in a general hospital in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Material and methods. From 1994 to 1998, 33 patients 13 years of age or older with diagnosis of APP were studied. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze information. Results. Males were frequently affected (82%), specially those coming from rural areas (60%). The mean age of the group was 34 ± 15.8 years. In 79% of the cases, pesticides were used to commit suicide and 33% of poisoning cases were due to organophospate pesticides. The mortality rate was 12%. Conclusions. In this small sample, acute poisoning from pesticides in the agricultural setting may be underestimated, since it was less frequent than in the general population. APP was more commonly used by indigent people to commit suicide.