Rational drug use in organophosphorous poisoning implicates prevention of suicidal mortality

Abstract

Suicidal poisoning by Organophosphorous compounds remains the potential public health concern imposing a significant morbidity and mortality throughout the India. A retrospective study was conducted in Maharishi Markandeshwar institute of medical sciences and research, Maharishi Markandeshwar deemed to be university, Mullana, Ambala, Haryana, India, to analyze the antidotes administered viz Pralidoxime (an oxime) and Atropine in patients diagnosed with Organophosphorous poisoning. The demographic data of 181 Organophosphorous poisoning clinical cases documented 100 % suicidal tendency of patients, 70.17 % in age of 15-24 years, and 72.93 % were females and 84.53 % from rural background. Meiosis, excessive salivation, vomiting, nausea, sweating (82.20 %), disorientation, disturbances in consciousness levels, blurring of vision (7.93 %) were the peculiar symptoms and signs of clinical presentation of these documented patients. Before pharmacotherapy all patients were subjected for stomach was which leads to improvement of 17.12 % of patients, while other 82.88 % of patients were administered pharmacotherapy consisting of Pralidoxime and Atropine. The positive outcomes as documented by pupillary size after atropine as antidote were 83.33 % and 80.66 % for heart rate. This present concluded that vast majority of patients diagnosed with Organophosphorous poisoning can be managed by alone administration of atropine as an antidote which is available as an cost effective drug bas compared to Pralidoxime which is expensive as compared to atropine. Thus cost effectiveness and suicidal death prevention can be significantly reduced by rational drug use of antidotes administered for Organophosphorous poisoning.