Histo-pathological findings and their relationship with age, gender and toxin amounts in paraquat intoxication

Abstract

Objective: Acute paraquat (PQ) poisoning which is taken either to commit suicide or by mistake has become a social concern worldwide. The present study was conducted to determine the histo-pathological findings in deceased PQ poisoning patients and evaluate their relationship with age, gender, amounts of ingested PQ, time from ingestion to admission.

Methodology: Forty-two patients of PQ poisoning with positive urinary dithionate test were included in the study. Deceased patients underwent autopsy and their histo-pathological findings were examined.

Results: The mean age of men and women were 29.06 ±10.6 and 16.66 ± 4.6 years respectively. Hepatocellular damage (60%), Tubular nephritis (60%) and pulmonary edema (50%) were the main pathological lesions. Logistic regression analyses identified the following significant predictors for poisoning-related liver lesions: age more than 20 years [odds ratio (OR), 13.75; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.48 – 127.47], and ingested paraquat amounts more than 30 mg /kg (OR, 16; 95% CI, 1.32 – 194.62). There was also a significant correlation between liver lesions and age (Correlation Coefficient, 0.50; P value, 0.024); gender (Correlation Coefficient, 0.57; P value, 0.008); amount of ingested PQ (Correlation Coefficient, 0.55; P value, 0.012). There were no correlations between lung and kidney histopathological lesions with different variables.

Conclusion: Age, amount of ingested PQ, and gender are important parameters which may correlate with histopathological liver lesions in deceased PQ poisoning patients. 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12669/pjms.291(Suppl).3543

How to cite this:Eizadi-Mood N, Sabzghabaee AM, Ghodousi A, Yaraghi A, Mousavi A, Maasoumi G, Shemshaki HR. Histo-pathological findings and their relationship with age, gender and toxin amounts in paraquat intoxication. Pak J Med Sci 2013;29(1)Suppl:403-408.   doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12669/pjms.291(Suppl).3543

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