Fluoroacetate poisoning a review and report of a case.

Abstract

DURING the war years intensive investigations were conducted in this country with the object of discovering a more effective rodenticide than had previously been available. As a result of these studies, sodium fluoroacetate (CH2FCOONa) was introduced as a rodenticide and reported on by Kalmbach.1During this early period of investigation the laboratory number 1080 was used to represent the compound. Since then, this number has been retained and sodium fluoroacetate is often referred to by this numerical designation alone in the literature on rat extermination.2 This compound has gained attention recently not only because of its economic and military importance as a potent rodenticide but also because its numerous important pharmacologic properties have engaged the interest of physiologists, biochemists and neurologists, as well as pharmacologists and toxicologists. Sodium fluoroacetate lacks one of the properties desirable in an ideal rodenticide, i. e., innocuousness for man and