A case report of acute severe paraquat poisoning and long-term follow-up

In the present study, the successful management of severe paraquat (PQ) poisoning with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome is described. A 42-year-old female ingested >100 ml PQ (20% weight/volume) in an attempted suicide. After 22 h the patient was admitted to hospital with serious liver, kidney and lung damage. Comprehensive therapy that maximized poison elimination was administered, along with appropriate glucocorticoids and medication for anticoagulation and protection of the liver and kidney. The patient was successfully treated and recovered after 40 days. However, pulmonary damage was aggravated when the glucocorticoid treatment was stopped after 2 months; the lungs recovered again following systematic therapy. Subsequent to a 8-month follow-up, the patient was able to look after herself in her daily life. To the best of our knowledge, successful treatment following severe PQ poisoning is rare.