J Korean Med Sci.  2012 Feb;27(2):111-114. 10.3346/jkms.2012.27.2.111.

Acute Oral Poisoning Due to Chloracetanilide Herbicides

• Seok SJ
• Choi SC
• Gil HW
• Yang JO
• Lee EY
• Song HY
• Hong SY

• KMID: 1120145
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2012.27.2.111

Abstract

Chloracetanilide herbicides (alachlor, butachlor, metachlor) are used widely. Although there are much data about chronic low dose exposure to chloracetanilide in humans and animals, there are few data about acute chloracetanilide poisoning in humans. This study investigated the clinical feature of patients following acute oral exposure to chloracetanilide. We retrospectively reviewed the data on the patients who were admitted to two university hospitals from January 2006 to December 2010. Thirty-five patients were enrolled. Among them, 28, 5, and 2 cases of acute alachlor, metachlor, butachlor poisoning were included. The mean age was 49.8 +/- 15.4 yr. The poison severity score (PSS) was 17 (48.6%), 10 (28.6%), 5 (14.3%), 2 (5.7%), and 1 (2.9%) patients with a PSS of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The age was higher for the symptomatic patients (1-4 PSS) than that for the asymptomatic patients (0 PSS) (43.6 +/- 15.2 vs 55.7 +/- 13.5). The arterial blood HCO3 was lower in the symptomatic patients (1-4 PSS) than that in the asymptomatic patients (0 PSS). Three patients were a comatous. One patient died 24 hr after the exposure. In conclusion, although chloracetanilide poisoning is usually of low toxicity, elder patients with central nervous system symptoms should be closely monitored and cared after oral exposure.

Keyword

Alachlor; Butachlor; Metachlor; Herbicides; Poisoning

MeSH Terms

Acetamides/*poisoning
Acetanilides/*poisoning
Acute Disease
Adult
Aged
Bicarbonates/blood
Central Nervous System Diseases/diagnosis
Female
Herbicides/*poisoning
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Poisoning/*diagnosis
Retrospective Studies
Severity of Illness Index
Suicide, Attempted

Reference

1. Ecobichon DJ. Klaassen CP, editor. Toxic effects of pesticides. Casarett & Doull's toxicology: the basic science of poisons. 2001. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical Pub Division;794–795.

2. Heydens WF, Lamb IC, Wilson AG. Krieger R, editor. Chloracetanilides. Handbook of pesticide yoxicology. 2002. 2nd ed. San Diego: Academic Press;1543–1558.

3. Ahrens WH. Herbicide handbook of the weed science society of America. 1994. 7th ed. Champaign: Weed Science Society of America.

4. Dearfield KL, McCarroll NE, Protzel A, Stack HF, Jackson MA, Waters MD. A survey of EPA/OPP and open literature on selected pesticide chemicals. II. Mutagenicity and carcinogenicity of selected chloroacetanilides and related compounds. Mutat Res. 1999. 443:183–221.

5. Burman DM, Shertzer HG, Senft AP, Dalton TP, Genter MB. Antioxidant perturbations in the olfactory mucosa of alachlor-treated rats. Biochem Pharmacol. 2003. 66:1707–1715.

6. Gebel T, Kevekordes S, Pav K, Edenharder R, Dunkelberg H. In vivo genotoxicity of selected herbicides in the mouse bone-marrow micronucleus test. Arch Toxicol. 1997. 71:193–197.

7. Osano O, Admiraal W, Klamer HJ, Pastor D, Bleeker EA. Comparative toxic and genotoxic effects of chloroacetanilides, formamidines and their degradation products on Vibrio fischeri and Chironomus riparius. Environ Pollut. 2002. 119:195–202.

8. Dierickx PJ. Glutathione-dependent cytotoxicity of the chloroacetanilide herbicides alachlor, metolachlor, and propachlor in rat and human hepatoma-derived cultured cells. Cell Biol Toxicol. 1999. 15:325–332.

9. Heydens WF, Wilson AG, Kier LD, Lau H, Thake DC, Martens MA. An evaluation of the carcinogenic potential of the herbicide alachlor to man. Hum Exp Toxicol. 1999. 18:363–391.

10. Acquavella JF, Riordan SG, Anne M, Lynch CF, Collins JJ, Ireland BK, Heydens WF. Evaluation of mortality and cancer incidence among alachlor manufacturing workers. Environ Health Perspect. 1996. 104:728–733.

11. Lo YC, Yang CC, Deng JF. Acute alachlor and butachlor herbicide poisoning. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2008. 46:716–721.

12. Persson HE, Sjöberg GK, Haines JA, Pronczuk de Garbino J. Poisoning severity score. Grading of acute poisoning. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol. 1998. 36:205–213.

13. Lane RJ, Mastaglia FL. Drug-induced myopathies in man. Lancet. 1978. 2:562–566.

14. Sieb JP, Gillessen T. Iatrogenic and toxic myopathies. Muscle Nerve. 2003. 27:142–156.

15. Grizard G, Ouchchane L, Roddier H, Artonne C, Sion B, Vasson MP, Janny L. In vitro alachlor effects on reactive oxygen species generation, motility patterns and apoptosis markers in human spermatozoa. Reprod Toxicol. 2007. 23:55–62.