Analysis of drug intoxication rates in Brazil based on the National System of Toxico-Pharmacological Information

Abstract

Medicines represent an essential instrument for the resolving capacity of health services, however, these substances can also cause harm, being one of the main causes of intoxication. In this context, the notifications of these cases are indispensable tools for building health policies and awareness programs in this area. Therefore, a descriptive, retrospective and exploratory study was carried out, which aimed to carry out a survey on the occurrence of cases of drug intoxication registered in Brazil by the National System of Toxic-Pharmacological Information in the period from 2012 to 2017, according to gender, age range age, circumstantial of intoxication and finished. A total of 161,814 cases of drug intoxication were registered in the period, representing 29.55% of the total. The age group with the highest prevalence was between 0-4 years (27.08%), followed by 20-29 years (14.52%), with a greater number of female cases (61.68%), being an attempt to suicide the most recorded circumstance (38.9%). Given this scenario, even more interventions are needed in the field of promotion and prevention, aiming to reduce cases of this type of intoxication. Moreover, it is necessary to encourage improvements for adequate notification, with the purpose of making its base more reliable with reality.