Pesticide-related incidents treated in Finnish hospitals--a review of cases registered over a 5-year period.
Pesticide-related incidents are uncommon in Finland. They comprised 0.11% of all hospitalizations due to poisoning in 1987-88. A search of the nationwide Hospital Discharge Register revealed 78 pesticide-related incidents in a 5-year period. Some 30 different agents were involved, the most frequent being organophosphate and MCPA. Only 36 cases (46%) were judged to be unequivocal or probable pesticide poisonings; 26 (33%) were probably other illnesses because of no or minimal exposure and of the children admitted for follow-up, nine (12%) had potentially marked exposure, but no poisoning developed owing to vigorous early treatment which limited absorption, and seven (9%) cases remained undetermined. According to our analysis, the management of patients with (suspected) pesticide poisoning at hospitals could be further improved if the following procedures were emphasised: decontamination of the skin when appropriate, systematic early estimation of the likely dose involved, analytical verification of pesticide absorption whenever feasible, and consistent collaboration with a toxicological advisory service.
Poison Control Centre, Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki, Finland.
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Lamminpää
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Riihimäki
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010575:Pesticides / Q000506:poisoning*; D012042:Registries; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors
D010575:Pesticides