Clinical experience of hemoperfusion treatment in children with paraquat poisoning

Abstract

Paraquat is a fatal, rapid-acting, nonselective herbicide. Despite the restriction of production and sales of the herbicide in Korea since 2012, already purchased paraquat can incur poisoning. This article describes a 25-month-old boy who accidentally ingested old paraquat on a rural road. After initial decontamination at 2 outside hospitals, he was transferred to the intensive care unit. Given the urine drug concentration of 20,000 ng/mL 2 hours after the intoxication, he received charcoal hemoperfusion and continuous venovenous hemofiltration to enhance the excretion of the herbicide. In 36 hours after intoxication, it was not detected in the urine. The boy was discharged uneventfully on day 8. This case highlights the importance of hemoperfusion in paraquat poisoning.