Citation

El-Ebiary AA, Elsharkawy RE, Soliman NA, Soliman MA, Hashem AA. Basic Clin. Pharmacol. Toxicol. 2016; 119(2): 222-227.

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Nordic Pharmacological Society, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/bcpt.12554

PMID

26786042

Abstract

Organophosphorus poisoning is a major global health problem with hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Research interest in N-acetylcysteine has grown among increasing evidence of the role of oxidative stress in organophosphorus poisoning. We aimed to assess the safety and efficacy of N-acetylcysteine as an adjuvant treatment in patients with acute organophosphorus poisoning. This was a randomized, controlled, parallel-group trial on 30 patients suffering from acute organophosphorus poisoning, who were admitted to the Poison Control Center of Tanta University Emergency Hospital, Tanta, Egypt, between April and September, 2014. Interventions included oral N-acetylcysteine (600 mg three times daily for three days) as an added treatment to the conventional measures versus only the conventional treatment. Outcome measures included mortality, total dose of atropine administered, duration of hospitalization and the need for ICU admission and/or mechanical ventilation. A total of 46 patients were screened and 30 were randomized. No significant difference was found between both groups regarding demographic characteristics and the nature or severity of baseline clinical manifestations. No major adverse effects to N-acetylcysteine therapy were reported. Malondialdehyde significantly decreased and reduced glutathione significantly increased only in the NAC-treated patients. The patients on NAC therapy required less atropine doses than those who received only the conventional treatment; however, the length of hospital stay showed no significant difference between both groups. The study concluded that the use of N-acetylcysteine as an added treatment was apparently safe, and it reduced atropine requirements in patients with acute organophosphorus pesticide poisoning. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Language: en