Korean J Med.  2012 Sep;83(3):373-377.

Successful Management of Fatal Paraquat Poisoning with Four Courses of Steroid and Cyclophosphamide Pulse

• Kim KL
• Lee CS
• Lee MJ
• Kim HS
• Choi MJ
• Yoon JW
• Koo JR

Abstract

Although severe paraquat poisoning is fatal, intensive immunosuppression can be successful in selected patients. We report the case of a 33-yr-old patient who was poisoned by paraquat and developed multi-organ failure, progressive hypoxemia, and pulmonary fibrosis. The patient was successfully treated with four courses of immunosuppressive pulse therapy. The patient presented to the hospital 2.5 hours after ingesting 2 mouthfuls of paraquat. The serum level of paraquat was 10.40 microg/mL at 3 hours and 3.36 microg/mL at 10 hours after ingestion, which is predictive of a fatal outcome. The first course of steroid and cyclophosphamide pulse therapy was initiated after hemoperfusion. During the hospital course, the patient showed progressive hypoxemia with pulmonary fibrosis. Accordingly, three additional courses of immunosuppressive pulse therapy were administered to prevent pulmonary injury. This treatment inevitably led to bone marrow suppression, which was recovered with supportive care. The patient fully recovered after repeated immunosuppressive pulse therapy without residual hypoxemia and was successfully discharged from the hospital.

Keyword

Cyclophosphamide; Paraquat; Pulmonary fibrosis; Steroid

MeSH Terms

Anoxia
Bone Marrow
Cyclophosphamide
Eating
Fatal Outcome
Hemoperfusion
Humans
Immunosuppression
Lung Injury
Mouth
Paraquat
Pulmonary Fibrosis
Cyclophosphamide
Paraquat