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The Haldane M-value is the ratio of half-saturation pressures for O2 and CO (PO2/PCO) and is a key value of physiological and pathological models exploring CO metabolism or exposure to CO. Nevertheless, the M-values obtained from different studies and different species appear to be inconsistent. A better estimation of M-values and a consideration of interspecies variation will ensure the accuracy of CO study results and allow reliable models to be constructed. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis in order to determine and compare M-values according to species and experimental conditions. We used electronic libraries (PubMed/Embase/JSTORE) from 1895 to January 2016. For each article, we collected the following parameters: species, age, temperature, pH, atmospheric pressure, concentration of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) or methemoglobin, and type of hemoglobin. The systematic review found 25 articles addressing the M constant, including 135 with individual data and 51 with mean values concerning mammals, laboratory animals, fish, fetal hemoglobin and invertebrates. M-values at a physiological temperature and pH were assessed only for adult (137 [119–153]) and fetal (135 [112–168]) sheep, dogs (215 [193–218]), mice (194 [118–278]) and rats (191 [177–200]). A correlation between M-values and temperature was confirmed for sheep and horses. A correlation between M-values and pH could not be inferred because there was a lack of data. M-values varied according to species. Only the influence of temperature was confirmed. A formal measurement of the M constant in the given experimental conditions should be performed for each animal model study of CO. Further homogeneous studies are necessary to compare the M-values of different animals.

To avoid accidental poisoning, pesticides must be handled according to prescribed rules. Furthermore, the exact composition of the pesticide formulation should be known. Cases of acute poisoning usually occur by ingestion and less frequently by the other routes. Symptoms may appear immediately but sometimes they can appear later and/or be more prolonged giving rise to delayed death and/or delayed morbidity. Acute poisoning by raticides and by organophosphate insecticides should deserve all our attention. Poisoning by herbicides containing chlorate salts, oxidative phosphorylation uncouplers or bipyridilium derivatives may be particularly dangerous. The ingestion of Paraquat, in particular, which is a veritable lesional poison, could be beyond all therapeutic resources. Language: en

Presents a case study of a massive oral exposure to hexavalent chromium in which there was demonstrable toxic effects seen on the proximal renal tubule that remained limited. Initial treatment of the medical condition; Main manifestations of hexavalent chromium toxicity; Results of the early administration of ascorbic acid and N-acetylcysteine.

The ability of paracetamol to induce structural chromosome aberrations in human peripheral blood lymphocytes in vivo was evaluated in volunteers who had been administered a single oral dose of 3 g paracetamol, in patients who had received 2 g of propacetamol by intravenous infusion every 6 h for at least 7 days, and in self-poisoned patients who, for suicidal reasons, had ingested more than 15 g paracetamol. In addition to the in vivo observations, the effectiveness of paracetamol to interfere with fusorial microtubule polymerisation was assayed in vitro in order to detect a possible effect of paracetamol on the distribution of chromosomes during cell division. The negative results obtained in all those assays strongly suggest that paracetamol has no mutagenic properties in human. There was, indeed, no significant difference in the percentage of abnormal cells before and after application of paracetamol in volunteers (0.2% before ingestion of 3 g paracetamol, 0.12% after 24 h, 0.04% after 72 h and 0.04% after 168 h) and in patients (0.5% of abnormal cells before treatment versus 0.44% after intravenous infusion of a total of 28 g paracetamol). Moreover, the yield of abnormal cells was not modified in self-poisoned persons (0.24%), in spite of an important decrease in the mitotic index of the PHA stimulated lymphocytes. In the in vitro assay, no inhibition of microtubule polymerisation was detected with concentrations of 2.5, 5 and 10 mM paracetamol.