Pediatric pesticide poisoning in the Carolinas: An evaluation of the trends and proposal to reduce the incidence

Studies from North and South Carolina on hospitalizations following pestici de exposure have shown that about 30% involve children. During 1990-1993, 2 9% of North Carolinians hospitalized for pesticide poisoning were children. Between 1971 and 1996, 28% to 37% of the patients hospitalized following p esticide exposure in South Carolina were children. Data from a South Caroli na study, from the Association of American Poison Control Centers and the V ital Statistics of the US, suggest that pesticide poisonings in children ar e part of the overall problem of children being poisoned by household chemi cals. Most poisonings occur in toddlers about 1-y-of-age. Pesticide-related fatalities in children have steadily decreased for the last 20-y while poi sonings from other household chemicals have not decreased dramatically. The data suggest that increased public awareness of the risks of household che micals could decrease that poisoning incidence.