ACCIDENTAL DRUG POISONING IN CHILDREN

Abstract

Introduction: Intoxication is defined as clinical and/or laboratory changes resulting from an organic imbalance caused by the individual's interaction with a toxic agent. In Brazil, most poisonings that occur in children are caused by medications. Objective: To characterize drug poisoning in children, analyze the factors and main environments associated with intoxication, and establish ways to reduce the occurrence of such adversity. Methods: Searches were carried out in the BVS (Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde) databases, where two articles were found, Scielo (Scientific Electronic Library Online) and Google Scholar, using as descriptors: “intoxicação”, “medicamentos” and “criança”, through the selection of original articles available in Portuguese and published in the last five years. Results: Among the causes of poisoning, medication is the main causative agent, the cases are mainly related to children who are in the early stages of life, and occur mainly in domestic environments, orally, and with single acute exposure. Conclusion: It is concluded that health education measures regarding care in the use and storage of medicines are fundamental from the point of view of public health, aiming to reduce toxicological events in children.