Telephone toxicological information service on pesticide poisonings.

The problem of pesticide poisonings has been discussed with reference to the records of the toxicological information provided in 1993-1995 by the staff of the National Poison Information Centre and the physicians of the Clinic of Acute Poisonings in Lódź. Based on those data, pesticide poisonings occupy second place among the categories of chemical most frequently responsible for acute poisonings, while the first place is occupied by drugs. In the pesticide category, most of the information related to poisonings with pyrethroids, followed by organophosphorous compounds, coumarine derivatives, carbamates. Pesticide poisonings in children continue to be a serious problem. Coumarine derivatives and zinc phosphide found in rodenticides constitute the most frequent source of pesticide poisoning among children. Considering the circumstances of pesticide poisoning, accidental poisonings are the most frequent. The high incidence of pesticide poisoning shows that it is a serious problem and the steps should be taken to prevent poisonings with pesticides.