J Korean Soc Emerg Med.
2002 Dec;13(4):444-449.
Prognostic Factors of Patients with Paraquat Poisoning
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Dankuk University, Korea.
- 2Department of Emergency Medicine, Taean medical center, Chungnam, Korea. hrfamily@medigate.net
Abstract
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PURPOSE: Paraquat is a lethal herbicide and induces acute renal failure, hepatic dysfunction, and progressive respiratory failure. The purpose of this study was to investigate in cases of paraquat poisoning, the correlation between the serum concentration of paraquat and the ingested amount and between the prognostic factors.
METHODS
In 53 patients who had ingested a 24.5% paraquat solution, we evaluated the significance of plasma paraquat concentrations and ingested amounts of paraquat. Prognostic factors such as age, sex, hypoxia, serum total CO2, and serum creatinine were also analyzed.
RESULTS
The plasma paraquat concentration related to time after ingestion could definitely be used to predict the probability of the patient's survival. The mortality rate was significantly higher in the patients who had hypoxia, serum total CO2 below 18 mEq/L, serum creatinine above 2.0mg/dL, and an ingested amount of 2 mouthfuls (=40 cc) or more, but not in old patients or in patients with positive uroparaquat tests.
CONCLUSION
The initial plasma paraquat concentration was the most important prognostic factor, but it had close relation with the ingested amount of paraquat.
