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Abstract

Acute poisoning by chemical products: analysis of the first years of the Spanish Toxic Surveillance System (SETv). Background: There are few epidemiological studies on acu- te poisonings from pesticides, industrials and household products in Spain. The objective of this work is to describe the epidemiolo- gical and clinical profile of acute poisonings by chemical products in our country, and analyze their annual evolution. Methods: The Spanish Toxicovigilance System (SETv) is a prospective registry that includes 32 Emergency Departments and Intensive Care Units in Spain. An observational descriptive study of acute poisoning by chemical agents (excluding pharmacologi-cal products and illicit drugs) was carried out, within 1999-2014. Statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square or exact Fisher’s tests. Non-parametric continuous variables were compa- red using the Mann–Whitney U test. P-value less than 0.05 were considered significant. Results: The 10,548 cases studied had a mean age of 38.41 (±22.07) years, being significantly higher in women (p=0.0001). 67.7% of the poisonings occurred at home, and the most frequent routes of exposure were respiratory (48.3%), digestive (35.3%) and ocular (13.1%). The most frequent toxic groups were toxic gases (31%), caustics (25.6%) and irritant gases (12.1%). Of the patients that required treatment (76.2%), antidotes were used in 27.2%. 20.6% of the patients were admitted at Hospital, with a median stay of 32 (±151.94) days, with significant differences for pesticides and solvents (p=0.02). Sequelae were presented at dis charge in 2.1% of patients. Mortality was 1.4% (146 patients) with a mean age of 62.08 years (±19.58) (p=0.0001). Conclusions: The reduction of chemical poisonings should be prevented in the domestic environment, taking into account the sources of exposure to carbon monoxide and the handling of hou- sehold cleaning products, both causic liquids and the generation of irritating gases when mixed . Gas poisoning, Corrosives.