Poisoning with household cleaning products in a city in Northeast Brazil

This study analyzes toxic exposures to household cleaning products based on data from the Center for Notification and Treatment of Poisoning (CEATOX) in Campina Grande, Paraiba State, Brazil, from 2007 to 2010. The data were collected from the reporting forms from the Information System on Notifiable Diseases (SINAN), analyzed with SPSS (Version 17). Chemical identification was performed in urine samples using high-resolution chromatography techniques (GC-MS and HPLC-UV). Six hundred and sixty cases of poisoning were reported, with pesticides as the principal causal agents (42.2%). Poisoning with household cleaning products occurred mainly in children (30.1%) and/or females (55.21%) who were exposed to the product accidentally (55.4%) by the oral route (82%). These data indicate that poisoning with household cleaning products in Campina Grande should be treated with specific prevention and control measures, including evaluation of ease of access to pesticides, in order to reach the goals set by the Brazilian National Health Plan for 2012-2015.