Evaluation of the Therapeutic Outcomes of Patients Poisoned with Paraquat Poison Treated with New Treatment Instructions in the Poisoning Department of Khurshid Hospital in Isfahan from 2018 to 2020

Considering the high prevalence of paraquat poisoning with the intention of suicide and its extremely deadly effects on the major organs of the body, choosing the best treatment can play a significant role in reducing the mortality rate of these patients. For this purpose, this study was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic outcomes of paraquat-poisoned patients treated with a new treatment protocol.

The current retrospective study was conducted on 39 paraquat-poisoned patients treated with a new protocol. In the new protocol, in addition to the standard protocol, treatment with curcuma, pirfenidone, selenium plus, and silymarin is prescribed by gavage. By referring to the archive, basic and clinical information of these patients was extracted and recorded.

In this study, 18 (46.2%) recovered and 21 (53.8%) died. The prevalence of mortality was significantly related to the frequency distribution of gender and age of patients. Hence, the percentage of mortality was higher in men and in those over 35 years of age. In addition, in the new treatment protocol, it was found that although the administration of selenium, curcumin, and silymarin increased the chances of patients' recovery to an insignificant extent (P > 0.05), the administration of pirfenidone can significantly increase the recovery of patients (OR = 3.14 and P = 0.028).

According to the results of the present study, the administration of pirfenidone and other antioxidants can increase the recovery rate. Although the administration of silymarin, selenium, and curcumin did not show a significant relationship in terms of reducing mortality or increasing recovery, it seems that the treatment regimen based on these drugs results in a higher recovery rate.