A case of poisoning in a man who drank a nutrition supplement containing methomyl, a carbamate pesticide.
A 50-year-old man was admitted to the emergency room complaining oppression on his chest, sweating and vomiting. He had drunk a 30 ml volume nutrition supplement 60 minutes before. As myosis and decrease of serum choline esterase activity were observed on admission examination, poisoning was suspected and toxicological analyses were carried out on the heeltap of the drink. Drug screening by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) revealed the presence of methomyl and the concentration of methomyl in the heeltap determined by liquid chromatography was 2.1 mg/ml. Methomyl concentrations in the serum and urine were determined after converting methomyl to its oxime form followed by derivatization and GC/MS. Methomyl concentration in the serum collected 6 hours after ingestion was 0.63 microg/ml, and that in the urine collected 7-20 hours after ingestion was 0.10 microg/ml. Based on these values and reported data, the amount of methomyl contaminated to the drink was considered to be a toxic dose.
Kudo
Keiko
K
Department of Forensic Pathology and Sciences, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
Hida
Yoshihiro
Y
Zaitsu
Akinori
A
Inoue
Hiromasa
H
Tsuji
Akiko
A
Ishida
Tomomi
T
Ikeda
Noriaki
N
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005506:Food Contamination; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D008297:Male; D008724:Methomyl / Q000032:analysis / Q000506:poisoning*; D008875:Middle Aged
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D007306:Insecticides; D008724:Methomyl