Abstract
Self-poisoning with pesticides is a major public health problem in many developing countries, accounting for up to one-third of all suicides worldwide according to recent estimates and Sri Lanka is not an exception. Here we reporting a case of paraquat poisoning in a 17-year-old-girl presented after self-ingestion. She developed oropharyngeal ulcers and clinical and laboratory evidence of multi organ damage. She was successfully treated with cyclophosphamide and steroid, initiated very early stage in addition to other supportive measurers. She made an uneventful recovery.
Highlights
Ingestion of paraquat is a common mode of deliberate self-harm.(1) Survival after acute paraquat poisoning is related to the ingested amount, the circumstances of poisoning, and the formulation ingested (2)
She had ingested around 10ml and got admitted to the peripheral hospital where the poison was identified by the attending medical officer as paraquat
Accidental or deliberate ingestion has an extremely high case-fatality rate. For this reason, paraquat has been restricted in many parts of the world including Sri Lanka where it was completely banned in the year 2014
Summary
Ingestion of paraquat is a common mode of deliberate self-harm.(1) Survival after acute paraquat poisoning is related to the ingested amount, the circumstances of poisoning, and the formulation ingested (2). Case presentation A 17-year-old girl was transferred from a peripheral hospital following self-ingestion of paraquat taken 15 hours prior to admission. She had ingested around 10ml and got admitted to the peripheral hospital where the poison was identified by the attending medical officer as paraquat. She received 1st dose on day seven for alteration of renal function, on day ten for alteration of liver function and on day fourteen for the respiratory decompensation In addition she was given parenteral cyclophosphamide 750mg after getting an informed written consent on day seven and eight when she developed acute kidney injury. Given the high mortality from acute paraquat poisoning, some centers administer all potentially beneficial treatment modalities to patients with acute paraquat poisoning in hope of obtaining some beneficial effect
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