Intoxicação medicamentosa no Brasil

Abstract

Drug poisoning is a major public health problem in Brazil. Taking this factor into account, the present study aimed to carry out a survey on the occurrence of cases of drug poisoning in Brazil from 2018 to 2023. The data used in the research were extracted from articles on the Scielo and Pubmed search platforms. From the research carried out, it was possible to find the following variables regarding poisoning: sex, age group, circumstance, region, evolution and area of occurrence. It was possible to observe the frequency by class of medications, where the classes most reported in poisonings were analgesics and benzodiazepines, where we can see that they are the most used in the practice of self-medication, followed by anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. Muscle relaxants and anti-allergy drugs come next. Antispasmodics, anti-flu, gastroprotectors, antiparasitics, methylphenidate and vitamin supplements appear to add up. The results found show that the southeast region had the greatest predominance of these notifications, followed by the south and northeast regions. The lowest percentages were observed in the north and central west regions. Females, aged between 20-39 years, were the most affected by the recorded cases of drug poisoning. Regarding the circumstance, suicide attempts and individual accidents reached the highest rates. And even with the risks presented by drug poisoning, the most recorded clinical evolutions corresponded to a cure. Although there is underreporting, identifying poisonings is important for generating preventive actions and strategies to combat drug poisoning. Thus, there is a need to carry out campaigns, mainly among young women and adults, related to suicide prevention, making more work on this subject relevant, helping to create public policies with the aim of reducing this alarming number.