J Korean Soc Clin Toxicol.  2010 Jun;8(1):16-23.

A Study on Organophosphate Poisoning Patients: Comparison of the Survivor Group and Dead Group

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Chosun University Hospital, Gwangju, Korea. nschoer@naver.com

Abstract

PURPOSE
Organophosphate insecticide poisoning is common in Korea, but there is no definitive guideline for determining the severity of the poisoning and the predictive factors. Therefore, we evaluated the organophosphate poisoned patients and we divided them into two groups, the survivors and the dead, and the results might be useful for treating organophosphate poisoning patients.
METHODS
We performed a retrospective analysis of 68 organophosphate poisoned patients who visited the Chosun University Hospital Emergency Medical Center during a 24-month period from January, 2007 to December, 2008. We made a work sheet of the patients' characteristics and the collected data was analyzed and we compared this data between the survivor group and the dead patient group.
RESULTS
There were significant differences between the survivor group and the dead patient group for the mean age, the alcohol intake state and the typically expressed signs. The dead patients had lower blood pressure, tachycardia and a lower Glasgo Coma Score (GCS) score than the survivor group. On the arterial blood gas analysis, the dead patients had more severe acidemia and they had lower saturations. Increased serum amylase levels were found in the dead patients. The survivors' initial and follow up serum pseudocholinesterase activity (after 6~8 days) was significantly higher than that of the dead group. The total amount of atropine injected to patient was less in the survivors than that in the dead patients.
CONCLUSION
Old age and expressing the typical intoxication signs, a lower GCS score and blood pressure, showing acidosis on the gas analysis and low serum cholinesterase activity may be useful as poor prognostic indicators for patients with organophosphate poisoning. We suggest that physicians must pay careful attention to the signs and prognostic factors of organophosphate insecticide poisoned patients.

Keyword

Organophosphate; Poisoning; the Survivor; the Dead

MeSH Terms

Acidosis
Amylases
Atropine
Blood Gas Analysis
Blood Pressure
Cholinesterases
Coma
Emergencies
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Korea
Organophosphate Poisoning
Pseudocholinesterase
Retrospective Studies
Survivors
Tachycardia
Amylases
Atropine
Cholinesterases
Pseudocholinesterase
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