title: The area of ground glass opacities of the lungs as a predictive factor in acute paraquat intoxication.
abstract: Even though plasma paraquat (PQ) levels have known to be an informative predictor, many patients succumb at low PQ levels in acute PQ intoxication. This study was designed to see whether the high resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) of the lungs would be a predictive measure in acute PQ intoxication. HRCT of the lungs was obtained from 119 patients with acute PQ intoxication on 7 days after PQ ingestion. The areas with ground glass opacities (GGOs) were evaluated at five levels with the area measurement tool of the picture archiving and communication systems. Among 119 patients, 102 survived and 17 died. The plasma PQ levels were significantly higher in the non-survivors than in the survivors (2.6+/-4.0 microg/mL vs. 0.2+/-0.4 microg/mL, P=0.02). The area with GGOs was 2.0+/-6.4% in the survivors and 73.0+/- 29.9% in the non-survivors (P<0.001). No patients survived when the area with GGOs was more than 40% but all of the patients survived when the area affected by GGOs was less than 20%. In conclusion, the area of GGOs is a useful predictor of survival in acute PQ intoxication, especially in patients with low plasma PQ levels.
authors: Department of Radiology, Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital, Cheonan, Korea.
authors: Yung-Tong
authors: YT
authors: Kim
authors: Sung-Shick
authors: SS
authors: Jou
authors: Hae-Sung
authors: HS
authors: Lee
authors: Hyo-Wook
authors: HW
authors: Gil
authors: Jong-Oh
authors: JO
authors: Yang
authors: Eun-Young
authors: EY
authors: Lee
authors: Sae-Yong
authors: SY
authors: Hong
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006540:Herbicides / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning*; D006801:Humans; D055370:Lung Injury / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010269:Paraquat / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017741:Survivors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D006540:Herbicides; D010269:Paraquat