Abstract
The prognosis of paraquat poisoning is poor despite various treatments. Measurement of the plasma paraquat concentration is useful to determine the prognosis, but this measurement cannot be performed at all hospitals. In this study, the relationship between arterial blood gas analysis and the prognosis in paraquat poisoning was analyzed in 12 cases at Uwajima City Hospital between 1989 and 1996. The survival group (n=4) showed higher HCO3- and base excess levels than the fatal group. Patients in the fatal group (n=8) were in a state of metabolic acidosis. We demonstrated that arterial blood gas analysis is an easy and useful method to make a prognostic judgement of paraquat poisoning.
