Factors associated with severe effects following acute glufosinate poisoning

Abstract

Severe effects following acute glufosinate poisoning were associated with two positive SIRS criteria. A low P/F ratio may be useful for predicting the occurrence of respiratory complications.

Initial Serum Ammonia as a Predictor of Neurologic Complications in Patients with Acute Glufosinate Poisoning

“…Therefore, we propose that clinicians should check initial serum ammonia levels to predict the likelihood of neurologic complications in glufosinate-poisoned patients admitted to the ED. Inoue, et al 6 reported that severe complications following acute glufosinate poisoning were associated with two positive cases of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS); however, we did not detect any differences between patient groups in terms of the two positive SIRS criteria ( Table 1 ). Further investigations will be needed.…”

“…In our study, the sample was enriched in terms of patients with severe disturbance of consciousness (60.0%) and seizure (51.1%) unlike the samples used in Mao, et al 12 and Inoue, et al 6 (20.9% and 50.0%, 8.7%, and 18.8%), respectively. Between our study, the Mao, et al 12 study, and the Inoue, et al 6 study, there were no significant differences in terms of age and ingested amounts [62±15 yrs vs. 60 (IQR 40-72) yrs vs. 74 (IQR 65-86) yrs; 27.0 (IQR 18.0-54.0) g vs. 30.4 (IQR 18.5-45.6) g vs. 27.8 (IQR 9.3-55.5) g]. The results of this study indicate that acute glufosinate poisoning can cause complications much more often than previously reported.…”

“…Mao, et al 12 identified a severe/fatal group (respiratory failure, coma, seizure, shock, and death) of 33 patients (28.7%) out of 115 patients with oral exposure. Inoue, et al 6 defined severe complications as follows: respiratory arrest, convulsion, and severe disturbance of consciousness (GCS<8). The total number of patients with severe complications in their study was 8 (50%) out of 16 patients.…”

“…Therefore, predictors of complications would assist clinicians in the treatment of glufosinate-poisoned patients. However, predictors of complications 6 remain unknown, and existing reports regarding serum ammonia levels as a probable predictor of severe neurotoxicity are limited to case reports. 7 Therefore, we investigated baseline characteristics, clinical presentations, complications, and factors that can be readily assessed in the ED to determine which are predictive of neurologic complications in glufosinate-poisoned patients.…”

Impact of Pesticides on Environmental and Human Health

“…Glufosinate inhibits the synthesis of glutamine in plants, and plant death occurs as a consequence of the increased ammonia levels [16]. Glufosinate supress the activity of glutamine synthetase and glutamate decarboxylase, reducing glutamic acid levels and elicits various types of moderate-to-severe CNS toxicities [51]. Given the differences in the biochemical and metabolic pathways of plants and mammals, glufosinate ammonium formulations are minimally toxic to humans [52].…”