Avaliação dos acidentes aos escorpiões notificados na estado de Sergipe, Brasil

Abstract

Study design: Temporal analysis. Objectives: To evaluate the frequency and characteristics of scorpion envenomation in the state of Sergipe, reported by CIATOX-SE, from January 2002 to December 2012. Methodology: The variables contained in reports obtained by CIATOX-SE database were: year of the accident, accident zone, gender, age and evolution of patients stung by scorpions. We calculated the adjusted incidence of scorpion envenomation each year and linear time trends were analyzed by univariate linear regression to estimate the annual growth rates of notifications. A comparison between the proportions of categorical variables was performed with the chi-square test. The significance level was 0.05. Results: We found 3,547 cases of scorpionism, the age group 20-29 years had the highest rate of annual growth in notifications (13.73), there was a predominance in females (54.3%), p <0.001; and reports of accidents in urban areas had a growth rate of 63.24. A lethality of 0.06% was reported, referring to patients younger than 9 years old. Conclusions: The high incidence of accidents suggest Sergipe as an endemic area and justifies the need for wider deployment of preventive public health policies to this grievance. The growth rates of the notifications show that women, individuals aged 20-29 years and those from urban areas may be at increased risk