The Frequency of Aspiration Pneumonia and Its Related Factors in Patients with Organophosphate Poisoning Admitted to the Poisoning Referral Center in Isfahan Province

Organophosphorus poisoning is one of the most common and dangerous causes of pesticides poisoning. We compared the clinical manifestations and outcome between organophosphate poisoning patients with and without aspiration pneumonia. We also determined the predictive risk factors for aspiration pneumonia.

This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Poisoning Referral Center in Khorshid Hospital, affiliated with Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. Patients with organophosphate poisoning aged over 18 years were included in the study from April 2018 to September 2022. To find the predictive factors for aspiration pneumonia, binary logistic regression test was used.

217 patients were evaluated in the study. Most of them were men (62.2%) with an average age (SD) of 38.2 (16.5). Aspiration pneumonia was observed in 11.52% of patients. The mortality rate in two groups with and without aspiration pneumonia was 28% and 3.6%, respectively (P < 0.001). Patients with aspiration pneumonia were older, had higher frequency of addiction and underlying somatic disease (P < 0.05). The frequency of coma, muscarinic symptoms, tremors, decreased blood oxygen saturation and endotracheal intubation on admission were higher in patients with aspiration pneumonia (P < 0.05).

Although the above factors were different between the group with and without aspiration pneumonia, regression analysis showed that only the history of addiction, underlying somatic disease, sweating, miotic pupils, abnormal lung auscultation and endotracheal intubation before or at admission were predictive factors.