J Korean Soc Clin Toxicol.  2022 Jun;20(1):15-21. 10.22537/jksct.2022.20.1.15.

Inflammatory cytokines in patients with pesticide poisoning: a pilot study

• Kim HJ
• Kim WJ
• Lee DW
• Jung SH
• Cho NJ
• Park S
• Lee EY
• Gil HW

• KMID: 2536063
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.22537/jksct.2022.20.1.15

Abstract

Purpose
Acute pesticide poisoning is lethal and can lead to death. A few studies about the effects of acute pesticide poisoning have focused on the immune system. In the current study, we preliminarily investigated the changes in blood inflammatory cytokine levels in acute pesticide poisoning patients.
Methods
In this study, we prospectively investigated the inflammatory cytokines in patients with acute pesticide poisoning. This study included patients admitted from February 2021 to November 2021 with a diagnosis of intentional poisoning by pesticide ingestion. The inflammatory cytokines measured were IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α.
Results
Totally, 27 patients were enrolled in this study. The types of pesticide ingested were glufosinate (n=6), glyphosate (n=8), organophosphate (n=4), pyrethroid (n=2), and others (n=7). The levels of inflammatory cytokines obtained were as follows: IFN-γ 2.78±8.03 pg/ml, IL-1β2.62±2.03 pg/ml, IL-6 44.58±80.16 pg/ml, and TNF-α11.80±15.60 pg/ml. The overall mortality rate was 11.1% (3/27), and levels of IL-1βand TNF-αwere significantly higher in the death group compared to the survival group.
Conclusion
Increased levels of IL-6 and TNF-αwere observed in patients with acute pesticide poisoning. IL-1βand TNF-αwere significantly higher in the death group as compared to the survival group. Our results indicate the occurrence of an inflammatory response due to the activation of immune cells by pesticide poisoning. Future large-scale studies need to be conducted to investigate the application of inflammatory cytokines as predictors and therapeutic targets.

Keyword

Pesticides; Poisoning; Cytokines; Immune system