[About the safety of application of nasal decongestants in the practice of pediatricians]

Undesirable effects of the application of the intransal vasoconstricting medications are a frequent occurrence in the pediatric practice. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the role of the intranasal vasoconstricting medications in the structure of the means and methods currently available for the treatment of toxicological pathologies based at a multi-field clinical hospital. The retrospective analysis of the medical histories of the patients admitted to the toxicological department and annual reports for the period from 2015 to 2016 was undertaken. The study has demonstrated that intoxication associated with the use of the intranasal vasoconstricting medications was the most common cause of hospitalization of the children in the toxicological departments. Intoxication of this origin accounted for 15-20% of the total number of toxicological pathologies among the children. The cases of intoxication are most frequently documented in the group of children at the age between 1 and 3 years. The risk of the undesirable serious complications is especially high after the application of naphazoline-based intranasal vasoconstricting medications (71.7-77.4% of all the cases of intoxication with these products). It is concluded that the use of intranasal vasoconstricting medications in the pediatric practice should be carried out under the strict control, with the naphazoline-based preparations being totally excluded from the application.