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Background: Paraquat poisoning is one of the most common lethal poisonings in Isfahan, the central province of Iran. Due to the lower price and widespread usage of this potent herbicide for agricultural purposes, this kind of intoxication occurs almost frequently in this region. Paraquat is available here as a concentrated liquid, aerosol form or water soluble granules with different brand names. The toxicity of this poison is due to the creation of superoxide radicals through the electron transport system involved in intracellular conversion of NADPH to NAD. Superoxide anions and other free radicals are very toxic for the cell membrane. Paraquat poisoning affects the respiratory, cardiovascular, central nervous, endocrine, digestive, skin and almost all body systems, depending on the amount of ingestion. Toxic signs and symptoms of its poisoning would be appeared with the ingestion of at least 20 mg/kg or more in adults. Serum levels of 0.2 µg/ml 24 hours and 0.1 µg/ml 48 hours after ingestion, is usually associated with a fatal outcome. Immediate treatment is important for survival of patients. Supportive care, prevention of absorption of ingested poison, elimination measures and administration of antioxidants are all considered as the cornerstone of its treatment. There is no specific antidote for this toxin. High mortality rate of up to 75% in paraquat poisoning may be related to the amount of ingested toxin and the quality of medical care. Therefore, acute care physicians are supposed to have enough knowledge and skills for the supportive care and treatment of paraquat poisoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the most common methods of suicide is acute poisoning. The association of anemia with psychiatric disorders and psychiatric disorders with suicidal behavior has been know previously. Due to the lack of study on relationship of anemia with suicide, anemia and related factors in intentional suicidal attempts were performed. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study was performed in Noor general hospital. 601 patients with attempted suicide self poisoning were evaluated. χ2 and logistic regression analysis was performed for data analysis. Findings: Prevalence of anemia was 33.8%. Frequency of anemia in patients according to age, sex and bipolar disorder showed significant differences. Logistic regression analysis showed the probability of suicide in women anemic patients was more than men (P = 0.022). Risk of suicide in anemic patients with bipolar disorder was 2.32 times the patients without bipolar disorder (P = 0.01). With increasing age of patients by age 60 relationship of anemia associated intentional poisoning would be increased. Conclusion: Gender, age and bipolar disorders are the related factor in patients with anemia and suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acute poisoning is one of the most threatening health problems around the world. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of intentional and unintentional poisoning in vulnerable groups in order to assist in planning and implementation of preventive measures. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 786 patients in vulnerable groups (children, women of reproductive ages and the elderly) with acute poisoning who attended the Emergency Department of Noor Hospital in Isfahan, Iran, during 2012. Findings: In 89.5% of cases, poisoning was intentional and 20.1% of these patients had a history of previous suicide attempts. Women at the age 19-44 were the most suicidal cases (95.1%). The most common medications were psychiatric drugs (51.9%). No significant difference was found between sexes, ingested drugs, and outcome between intentional and poisoning group compared to unintentional poisoning. Majority of patients recovered and the mortality rate was 0.5%. Conclusion: Our results showed that the women of reproductive ages were the most vulnerable groups at risk of intentional poisoning in our society that commit suicide by using drugs especially with psychiatric drugs. More attention and support for this vulnerable group is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poisoning is one of the medical emergencies. Poisoning with new Anticonvulsant drugs such as lamotrigine, sodium valproate, topiramate and gabapentin has been observed alone or in combination with other drugs in the last few years. Therefore this study was performed regarding the poisoning with new anticonvulsant drugs with respect to demographic, clinical manifestations, length of hospital stay, outcome and correlation between the outcome and different variables. Methods: This study was a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study. Simple sampling method was performed in the Noor and AliAsghar Hospital on poisoning cases with new anticonvulsant drugs. Need to intubation, connected to ventilator and aspiration pneumonia were considered as outcome Statisticial analysis was done by SPSS17 using ANOVA, Student t-test and logistic regression. Findings: Poisoning with Sodium valproate was more common than Lamotrigine, Topiramate and Gabapentin. The Mean (SD) age of study population was 27.67 (9.74) years old. The most important prediciting factors in outcome incidence were sex (male), seizure, cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms in poisoning with Sodium valproate and seizure in poisoning with Lamotrigine. One death occurred in poisoning with Sodium valproate. Conclusion: Average age of patient was about 27.67 years which may be due to the use of these drugs in the younger age groups. The higher length of hospital stay in patients with respiratory symptoms in Sodium valproate and Lamotrigine poisoning would be because of more complications (intubation, ventilation and aspiration penumonia) observed with these two drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]