• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.102-113
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• 1991

This study aimed to find out the effect of freeze-drying leek against cadmium poisoning on the cholesterol and enzyme activities in serum and superoxide radical, SOD and catalase in liver and kidney of the male rats during the administrered period. In this experiment, male rats of Sprague-Dawley strain were used. The rats were divided into 3 groups which were fed differently either for 5 weeks or for 10 weeks:basal diet, basal diet and cadmium in water and 3 % leek added diet and cadmium in water. Cadmium was administered ad libiturn 100 ppm CdCl$_{2}$ in water. The followings are the results of this experiment. 1. Leek reduced the cholesterol and the activities of GPT increase resulted from cadmium treatment. 2. Leek reduced the rate of cadmium in liver and kidney. 3. Leek reduced the activities of SOR and catalase in liver and kidney, while it enhanced the activities of SOD. 4. Leek reduced the necrosis and swelling in liver and kidney casused by cadmium treatment. This experiment showed that leek-addition group had protective effect against cadmium poisoning and increased ALPase activities in serum. Leek alleviated GPT activities in serum and cadmium concentration, necrosis, and swelling in liver and kidney. Therefore, this experiment concluded that leek has defensive power against cadmium poisoning.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.129-135
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• 1985

In order to search for potential antidotes for T-2 toxin poisoning, seven Chinese herbal drug extracts and five natural constituents were tested on mice intoxicated with T-2 toxin. When extracts of Panax ginseng and Atractylodes japonica (500 mg/kg) were administered p.o. once 3 hrs before and once 1 hr after T-2 toxin treatment, a 30% complete survival rate was noted. In case of Paeonia albiflora var. typica, a 30% complete survival rate was also produced at a dose of 250 mg/kg. Other extracts, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, Rehmannia glutinosa and Plantago asiatica exhibited no significant protection from the T-2 toxin poisoning. A nucleoside, thymidine showed protective activity against T-2 toxin toxicity and it produced a 40% complete survival rate when administered i.p. once 0.5 hr after T-2 toxin treatment. Other natural constituents, aucubin, vitamin C and E, and lipoic acid did not show any significant protective activities.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.45-48
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• 2004

Paraquat, a widely used herbicide, is extremely toxic, causing multiple organ failure in human. Many treatment modality has been used, but now paraquat is very fatal drug. Elimination rate of plasma paraquat seems to be a factor for the survival rate. So early diagnosis and early treatment are very important. Plasma paraquat concentration could be measured by radioimmunoassay. But it is impossible that the test was done at Emergency room and the result was checked immediately. There was relation between plasma paraquat concentrations and urine paraquat concentration. Because of its simplicity and low cost, urine paraquat concentration test is complementary to the plasma concentration measurement. If the patient has psychotic problem or unconscious mental state, and is observed unexplained dyspnea and oral ulcer, urine paraquat test is very important to rule out acute paraquat intoxication. We experienced a patient who was presented as unexplained acute renal failure initially and was diagnosed as paraquat intoxication later.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2019

Scombroid fish poisoning (SFP) is a form of histamine food poisoning caused by the ingestion of improperly stored fish. The term "scombroid" derives from the family name of the fish family first implicated, such as tuna and mackerel. On the other hand, non-scombroid fish species, such as sardine and herring, can also cause histamine poisoning. The histamine is converted from histidine by a bacterial enzyme in the causative fish. Because the symptoms of SFP can easily be confused with food allergies, it is believed to have been significantly under-reported. In 2016, an outbreak of SFP occurred among primary school students who had eaten yellowtail steak in Korea. The most common findings consisted of a rapid onset of flushing of the face and trunk, erythematous and urticarial rash, diarrhea, and headache occurring soon after consuming the spoiled fish. Usually, the course is self-limiting and antihistamines can be used successfully to relieve symptoms, but several life-threatening SFP cases have been reported. Clinical toxicologists should be familiar with SFP and have competency to make a differential diagnosis between fish allergy and histamine poisoning. SFP is a histamine-induced reaction caused by the ingestion of histamine-contaminated fish, whereas a fish allergy is an IgE-mediated reaction. This review discusses the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and preventive measures of SFP.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.126-131
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• 2019

Purpose: Herbicide-related mortality has decreased since the complete ban of paraquat product sales in 2012, but there still have been other herbicides intoxications with relatively severe complications. Glyphosate and glufosinate herbicides are used widely, and considerable research has been conducted. Chlorophenoxy herbicide is another major herbicide that has shown poor outcomes and mortality without proper management, but research in this area is lacking. Therefore, this study compared the clinical features of chlorophenoxy herbicide with those of other herbicides. Methods: The medical records of patients exposed to herbicides at a tertiary academic university hospital in Korea from May 2014 to April 2019 were reviewed retrospectively. The demographic and clinical data of 135 patients were then analyzed to identify the recent herbicides intoxication trends after the paraquat sales ban, focusing mainly on chlorophenoxy herbicide poisoning. Results: Of the 135 patients, 13 patients (9.6%) had chlorophenoxy herbicide poisoning. No significant differences in all the variables were observed between the chlorophenoxy herbicide poisoning group and non-chlorophenoxy herbicides poisoning groups. Toxic symptoms after poisoning varied from nothing noticeable to confusion; none of the patients had severe complications after their treatments. Conclusion: Acute chlorophenoxy poisoning is relatively less severe, with lower mortality rates than glyphosate and glufosinate poisoning.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.51-56
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• 2020

Purpose: Acute nicotine poisoning by liquid nicotine in electronic cigarettes is becoming an increasing problem worldwide. The current systematic review aimed to determine the harm of acute nicotine poisoning by reviewing published case reports. Methods: An online literature search with PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed database was performed to identify relevant studies addressing acute nicotine poisoning with electronic cigarettes. Two investigators searched the case reports written in English or Korean. Results: Twenty-six cases were included in this study. The routes of intoxication included ingestion in 18 cases, intravenous injection in three cases, subcutaneous injection in two cases, and ocular exposure in two cases. Ten cases had a cardiac arrest, and seven of them died. Seven out of 12 cases with intentional poisoning had a cardiac arrest. Nine children under 18 years were reported, and three of them had a cardiac arrest. Sixteen cases without a cardiac arrest recovered well, except for one case with sudden sensorineural hearing loss. Conclusion: The authors reviewed the risks of electronic cigarette liquid in terms of acute poisoning through a systematic review. The nicotine solution of an e-cigarette can be life-threatening in cases of acute poisoning. Therefore, active emergency treatment with early recognition is necessary. In addition, various management methods and regulations for preventing acute nicotine poisoning, such as restriction of distribution and nicotine concentration, should be considered.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.51-55
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• 2017

Colchicine is a drug that has long been used to treat a variety of illnesses; however, it reportedly has adverse effects at apparent toxic doses as well as at lower and therapeutically recommended doses. The typical therapeutic dose of colchicine is up to 2.4 mg daily, although it is sometimes as high as 8-10 mg daily. Here, we describe a case in which the patient showed sudden deterioration and died because of unintentional colchicine poisoning with a relatively small dose. When a colchicine poisoned patient visits the hospital, the physician should identify the patient's colchicine poisoning dose and concomitant drugs. Moreover, the patients should be monitored intensively for 24 to 72 hours and managed with various supportive treatment methods early and actively.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.43-45
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• 2007

Carbon dioxide is the fourth most abundant gas in the earth's atmosphere, and it is widely used in the chemical industry. Solid carbon dioxide is commonly known as dry ice. At low concentration, carbon dioxide appears to have little toxicological effect. At higher concentrations, however, it can produce an increased respiratory rate, tachycardia, cardiac arrhythmia, loss of consciousness, convulsion, and even death. Management of carbon dioxide poisoning requires the immediate removal of an individual from the toxic environment and administration of oxygen. It is important to know the concentration of carbon dioxide to which a patient has been exposed. We report a case of acute poisoning from solid carbon dioxide in a patient presenting with drowsiness and diminished mental capacity when she arrived in the emergency department. She recovered completely after administration of oxygen with conservative treatment.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.32-37
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• 2009

Formic acid or formate is a common industrial compound used in the production of ensilage, disinfectants, decalcifying agents and mainly as a precursor in industrial chemical synthesis. It is also a well-known toxic metabolite produced in methanol poisoning. Thus, formate is a potential source of both accidental and deliberate poisoning. Very few reports have been published thus far, on the toxicology of direct formic acid poisoning. Here, we report a case of a 74-year-old man without a history of depression, who ingested about 30 gm of formic acid. The patient presented with profound high anion gap metabolic acidosis, acute renal failure and esophageal stricture. The patient was successfully treated with hemodialysis and supportive measures. But permanent esophageal stricture was complicated by formic acid burns in the gastrointestinal tract. We discuss the pathophysiology and treatment of this case.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.142-145
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• 2008

Lamotrigine is a newer anti-epileptic drug for adjunctive treatment of refractory epilepsy, partial seizures, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, and bipolar disorder. Lamotrigine overdose causes serious central nervous and cardiovascular problems, but reports are uncommon. Few lamotrigine overdoses have been described because anti-epileptic drug use is limited and usually used with combination of other anti-epileptic drugs. In addition, most patients visit emergency departments with multi-drug overdoses, so few cases of lamotrigine poisoning alone exist. We had a female patient visit our emergency department a couple of hours after a lamotrigine overdose treated with intravenous hydration and urine alkalization by NaHCO3. She recovered successfully without any evidence of renal injury. However, she developed profound rhabdomyolysis, a previously unreported complication of this medication. We suggest that serial creatine kinase levels should be measured after lamotrigine poisoning.