Journal List > Korean J Occup Environ Med > v.8(2) > 1126274

Choo and Lee: A Survival Case Sustained Pulmonary Damage After Paraquat Ingestion

Abstract

The rapid quantification of paraquat in body fluids is of undoubted value in both initial assesment as well as the immediate prognosis of acutely poisoned patients. A 20-year-old woman ingested a mouthful of paraquat. Serum and urine paraquat levels were measured colorimetrically for 48 hours after identifying the presence of paraquat in her urine by a Paraquat test kit. At that time her survivability was considerd to be over 50% according to Proudfoot's scale of time related measured serum paraquat levels. Five days after admission, she began to cough but her chest x-ray picture was normal. However, she persisted to cough and subsequent chest x-rays showed fine reticulonodular densities in both upper and lower lobes. Twenty days after admission, she .was clinically well, and not deteriorated radiologically. Therefore, respiratory function tests were under-taken. They showed reduced lung volume, moderate reduction in ventilatory capacity, and a diffusion defect (DLco: 27% predicted value). Twenty four days after admission, the patient was discharged in good condition except for the sequale of lung involvement. Six months later, she was re-examined and found to be healthy with a large regression of lung lesions on her chest x-ray.

TOOLS
Similar articles