Human Exposures to N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide Insect Repellents Reported to the American Association of Poison Control Centers 1993–1997

This study analyzed 20,764 exposures involving insect repellants containing N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) that were reported to poison control centers from 1993 to 1997. Nearly 70% of the cases reported no symptoms related to the exposure. The occurrence of symptoms was related to the route of exp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of toxicology Vol. 21; no. 5; pp. 341 - 352
Main Authors Bell, John W., Veltri, Joseph C., Page, Brent C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.09.2002
Taylor & Francis
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Child
DEET - administration & dosage
DEET - poisoning
Drug Administration Routes
Female
Humans
Infant
Insect Repellents - administration & dosage
Insect Repellents - poisoning
Male
Medical sciences
Pesticides, fertilizers and other agrochemicals toxicology
Poison Control Centers
Poisoning - etiology
Poisoning - mortality
Survival Rate
Toxicology
United States - epidemiology
United States
North America
America
AAPCC
Exposures
Insect Repellents
Poison Center
DEET
Diethyltoluamide
Human
Toxicity
Insecta
Epidemiology
Symptomatology
Antipoison center
Arthropoda
Death
Repellent
Severity score
Poisoning
Invertebrata
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Summary:This study analyzed 20,764 exposures involving insect repellants containing N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) that were reported to poison control centers from 1993 to 1997. Nearly 70% of the cases reported no symptoms related to the exposure. The occurrence of symptoms was related to the route of exposure, with the highest rates associated with ocular exposures, followed by inhalation, multiple exposure routes, dermal, andingestion. Two deaths were reported, one in a 26-year-old male and one in a 34-year-old female, both following a dermal exposure. Twenty-six subjects experienced major effects. The greatest number of reported exposures involved infants and children, but this group experienced lower rates of adverse effects than teens or adults. There was no clear relationship between DEET concentration and presence or severity of clinical effects. For the cases reported to poison control centers and included in this analysis, the risk of serious medical effects for labeled use of insect repellants containing N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide appears to be low.
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ISSN:1091-5818
1092-874X
DOI:10.1080/10915810290096559