Análisis de fármacos en aguas residuales de tres hospitales de la ciudad de Puebla, México

Abstract

[EN] Through their effluents, hospitals contribute to the occurrence of emerging micro-pollutants, such as pharmaceutical products, in the water. This work quantified the presence of nine pharmaceuticals in the wastewater of three private hospitals in Mexico with 66, 92 and 120 beds, respectively. The samples were characterized physicochemically and, using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS / MS), the following average maximum concentrations were reported: acetaminophen(38740.11±33832.15 ng/L), naproxen (6321.42±11074.86 ng/L), ketorolac (1429.80±237.94 ng/L), ibuprofen (249.46±143.68 ng/L), ranitidine (149.60±303.70 ng/L), hydrocortisone (96.72±57.21 ng/L), dexamethasone (33.02±41.23 ng/L), esomeprazole (22.85±24.12 ng/L) and omeprazole (22.50±23.97 ng/L). In treated water, a reduction from 67 to 100% in hydrocortisone, naproxen, paracetamol and ranitidine levels was detected. The results obtained inform the presence of pharmaceuticals that had not been previously reported in Mexican hospital effluents and demonstrate the impact of treatment plants, contributing to the existing evidence to promote regulatory actions, technological innovation and monitoring.

[ES] Mediante sus efluentes, los hospitales contribuyen a la ocurrencia de microcontaminantes emergentes como los fármacos, en el agua. Este trabajo cuantificó la presencia de nueve fármacos en las aguas residuales de tres hospitales privados de México con 66, 92 y 120 camas, respectivamente. Las muestras se caracterizaron fisicoquímicamente y, empleando cromatografía líquida de alta resolución acoplada a espectrometría de masas (UPLC-MS/MS), se reportaron las siguientes concentraciones máximas promedio: paracetamol (38740.11±33832.15 ng/L), naproxeno (6321.42±11074.86 ng/L), ketorolaco (1429.80±237.94 ng/L), ibuprofeno (249.46±143.68 ng/L), ranitidina (149.60±303.70 ng/L), hidrocortisona (96.72±57.21 ng/L), dexametasona (33.02±41.23 ng/L), esomeprazol (22.85±24.12 ng/L) y omeprazol (22.50±23.97 ng/L). En aguas tratadas se detectó una reducción del 67 al 100% en los niveles de hidrocortisona, naproxeno, paracetamol y ranitidina. Los resultados obtenidos informan la presencia de fármacos que no habían sido reportados previamente en efluentes hospitalarios mexicanos y demuestran el impacto de las plantas de tratamiento, contribuyendo a la evidencia existente para impulsar acciones de regulación, innovación tecnológica y monitoreo.