Análise situacional de escorpionismo no município de João Pessoa no período de 2022 a 2024

Abstract

Brazil has a very wide fauna, containing a wide variety of animals of medical interest, with the potential to cause harm to human health. Thus, scorpionism or scorpion accident refers to poisoning caused by the inoculation of scorpion venom. Therefore, the main local manifestations include: pain, paresthesia, erythema and mild edema. Regarding treatment, the main ones are: anesthetic without vasoconstrictor or systemic analgesic and, for more severe cases, it is necessary to administer antiscorpion serum (SAEsc) or antiarachnid serum (SAA). Thus, the objective of the study was to quantify scorpion accidents that occurred in the city of João Pessoa between the years 2022 to 2024 reported by DATATOX (Brazilian Poisoning Data System of the Toxicological Information and Assistance Centers of Brazil) and by SINAN (Information System for Notifiable Diseases). This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional, quantitative analysis of the epidemiological aspects of scorpion stings in the city of João Pessoa, state of Paraíba, between 2022 and 2024, using data from DATATOX and SINAN. According to DATATOX, 4,582 cases were reported, 61% of which were female, the most affected age group was 20 to 29 years old, and the most affected anatomical site was the foot. In most cases, symptoms are limited to the area of the sting. Therefore, it is necessary to promote educational campaigns carried out by the Health Department in communities and distribute informative materials, as well as lectures in public schools and family health units. In addition, it is necessary to train health professionals to provide adequate care to patients and to correctly fill out notification forms, in order to avoid underreporting of important variables.