Clinical Symptoms and Para-Clinical Findings among the Deceased Patients Due to Aluminum Phosphide Poisoning in Ardabil, Iran, From 2009 To 2017

Abstract

Introduction: Aluminum phosphide or rice tablet is one of the most common pesticides and insecticides used in agriculture to protect crops, cereals, and rice. Recently, this substance has been increasingly used as a method for committing suicide among people in society. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical symptoms and para-clinical findings of deceased patients due to Aluminum phosphide poisoning in Ardabil province, Iran. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 97 hospitalized patients who died due to Aluminum phosphide poisoning in Ardabil province, Iran, from 2009 to 2017. The data were collected using a checklist and then analyzed in SPSS software (version 19) through descriptive and analytical statistics Results: The mean age of all patients was 34.3±15.8 years, and the majority of the cases (77.3%) were female. The most important symptoms were nausea and vomiting in males (92%) and females (100%). Moreover, the patients had a mean recovery time of 5.89 h. Of all the deceased patients, 22 and 75 cases took two and one tablets, respectively. Furthermore, 92.7% of the patients had taken the rice tablets orally. The amount of Glasgow Coma Scale (P=0.001), systolic blood pressure (P=0.001), PH (P=0.001), heart rate (P=0.001), respiratory rate (P=0.001), bicarbonate (P=0.001) and white blood cell (P=0.009) in died patients in more than 24 hour significantly difference with died patients in less than 24 hour. The females obtained a significantly lower systolic blood pressure (P=0.01) and lower pH (p=0.045), but the higher partial pressure of oxygen (P=0.01), compared to males. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the frequency of deaths due to rice pill poisoning was much higher in males than females; moreover, this value was higher in middle-aged groups, compared to other age groups.