title: Acute endosulfan poisoning: a retrospective study.
abstract: Endosulfan is a widely used insecticide that is associated with a high fatality rate in humans when ingested accidentally or with the aim of suicide. However, the literature concerning human endosulfan exposure is limited to case reports. Thus, we sought to 1) describe the clinical features of patients with acute endosulfan poisoning and 2) identify independent factors to predict patients' outcome. Fifty-two patients who presented with acute endosulfan poisoning between January 2001 and January 2007 were enrolled in this retrospective study. Sixteen (30.7%) of the 52 patients died, and 48 patients experienced seizures. Endosulfan poisoning caused the hypotension and the abnormalities on electrocardiogram at presentation. Over half of the patients developed complications, such as rhabdomyolysis, hepatic toxicity, and hypotension. These complications resolved without sequelae in the survival group. Refractory status epilepticus was the most common cause of death in this series (75.0%). Amount ingested being greater than 35 g of endosulfan was the most found to be an independent variable that predicted patient mortality. Patients with this risk factor must be treated aggressively during the early stage of endosulfan poisoning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju 501-747, South Korea. emdrmjm@gmail.com
authors.forename: Jeong Mi
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: Byeong Jo
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Chun
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000139:chemically induced; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D056486:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury / Q000473:pathology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003422:Critical Care; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000187:drug effects; D004726:Endosulfan / Q000506:poisoning*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000506:poisoning*; D007723:Korea; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010976:Platelet Count; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012206:Rhabdomyolysis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D012640:Seizures / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D013406:Suicide, Attempted; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D007306:Insecticides; D004726:Endosulfan