A 43-year-old male, with no previous history of mental illness, was diagnosed with coronary heart disease, after which he became acutely depressed and attempted suicide by ingesting an organophosphate pesticide. He was admitted to an intensive care unit and treated with pralidoxime, atropine, and oxygen. His coronary occlusion pattern required early coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surger...

BACKGROUND Emergency responders are among the first to arrive at a pesticide-related release event. Magnitude, severity, and risk factor information on acute pesticide poisoning among those workers is needed. METHODS Survey data collected from the SENSOR-Pesticides, CDPR and HSEES programs between 1993 and 2002 from 21 states were reviewed. Acute occupational pesticide-related illness inciden...

We have encountered numerous cases of rhabdomyolysis associated with acute pesticide intoxication; however, the cause, incidence, and treatment outcomes of rhabdomyolysis have not been studied. The current study involved 2,125 patients hospitalized with acute chemical poisoning. Based on clinical and laboratory parameters and treatment outcomes, we found that overall incidence of rhabdomyolysis...

We reviewed all registered cases of acute chemical poisoning reporting to the preventive medicine department in the Qassim Region of Saudi Arabia from 1999 to 2003. The number of cases increased from 66 to 114 during the study period. Mean age of patients was 17.7 years, and over 39% were children aged < or = 5 years. Pesticides were the most common chemical involved; paracetamol and other anal...

Organophosphorus (OP) pesticide poisoning causes significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in the developing world, with upwards of 3 million people poisoned each year. Although OP poisoning is not common in developed countries, recently greater attention has been given to these chemicals because of their similarity to chemical warfare agents. Despite the agricultural use of OP pesticid...

BACKGROUND Highly hazardous organophosphorus (OP) insecticides are responsible for most pesticide poisoning deaths. As they are removed from agricultural practice, they are often replaced by carbamate insecticides of perceived lower toxicity. However, relatively little is known about poisoning with these insecticides. METHODS We prospectively studied 1288 patients self-poisoned with carbamate...

Although the effects of acute pesticide poisoning are well known for the pesticides most currently used, hardly any data exist on health effects after long-term low-dose exposures. Major unresolved issues include the effect of moderate exposure in the absence of poisoning. The increased utilization of pesticides other than organophosphates makes it even more difficult to find associations. In t...

BACKGROUND Acute pesticide poisoning (APP) is commonly underdiagnosed in Tanzania. Studies in developing countries suggest that a lack of diagnostic skills among health care providers (HCPs) undermines surveillance for APP. This study aimed at characterizing experience and skills of Tanzanian HCPs regarding APP diagnosis and management. METHODOLOGY The population included HCPs responsible for...

1 2 A leading method of committing suicide in Sri Lanka is ingestion of pesticides, which are readily available in rural farming households. Self poisoning kills more people in rural Sri Lanka than ischemic heart disease and tropical diseases combined. 3 Although acute pesticide poisoning occurs at alarmingly high rates in Sri Lanka, it is also a major problem throughout the developing world. T...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper was to review the effectiveness of interventions to reduce pesticide overexposure and poisonings in worker populations. METHODS We used the Cochrane Collaboration search strategy to search the following databases for articles that tested the effectiveness of interventions in reducing human pesticide exposure or poisonings: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Occupationa...