Double rarity: an unusual case of bromoform poisoning detected by post-mortem radiography.

Bromoform ingestion and toxicity is a rare finding. Historically, bromoform was therapeutically prescribed as a sedative in whooping cough, and accidental overdoses occurred mainly in children. Bromoform is used in various industries. In the twenty-first century, bromoform ingestion can occur in the form of chlorinated water such as in pools and drinking water. We present a case report where the initial history and circumstances of death were unknown. A pre-autopsy full-body X-ray image using the Lodox® Xmplar-dr scanner revealed a dense radiopaque material in the stomach and intestines. This radiological finding proved vital in the approach and subsequent follow-up of the case.

Brodifacoum-contaminated synthetic marijuana: clinical and radiologic manifestations of a public health outbreak causing life-threatening coagulopathy.

Synthetic marijuana is a dangerous substance due to its potency, ever-changing composition, and unpredictable side effects. Recently, brodifacoum-contaminated synthetic marijuana has led to multiple deaths and morbidity throughout the USA from severe coagulopathy associated with use of this strain of the drug (brodifacoum is a rodenticide and potent Vitamin K antagonist/anticoagulant). We describe the clinical and radiologic findings in two patients who were diagnosed with, and treated for, ingestion of this new strain of synthetic marijuana. The radiologic manifestations were most notable for hemorrhagic pyelitis/ureteritis. Both patients required hospitalization with Vitamin K supplementation. The radiologic and clinical pictures in these patients are important for radiologists to recognize in order to help guide appropriate patient management.

Plain abdominal radiography: a powerful tool to prognosticate outcome in patients with zinc phosphide poisoning.

AIM: To evaluate the clinical features of zinc phosphide poisoning and to investigate whether outcome could be prognosticated based on abdominal radiography on presentation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All zinc phosphide-poisoned patients who were referred to Loghman-Hakim Hospital between March 2011 and September 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Data regarding patients' demographic characteristics, characteristics of the poisoning, abdominal radiography results, and patients' outcome were recorded. RESULTS: In 102 patients, the most common presenting signs/symptoms were nausea and vomiting (60%). Four patients died and another seven had developed complications during their hospitalization (metabolic acidosis, liver abnormalities, or acute renal failure). Nineteen patients had radio-opaque abdominal radiographs, nine of whom had died or developed complications (p = 0.001). Plain abdominal radiography had a sensitivity and specificity of 81% and 89% in predicting the patients' death or further development of complications. The positive and negative predictive values were 47% and 97%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Plain abdominal radiography is a very good tool for prognostication in patients with zinc phosphide poisoning. Immediate abdominal radiography can help stratify patients into high- or low-risk groups and determine treatment strategies.

Death by 'ice': fatal methamphetamine intoxication of a body packer case detected by postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) and validated by autopsy.

Fatal acute methamphetamine (MA) poisoning in cases of internal drug trafficking is rarely described in the literature. This case study reports an MA 'body packer' who died from fatal methamphetamine intoxication due to leaking drug packages in the alimentary tract. The deceased was examined by postmortem computed tomography (PMCT), and the results were correlated to subsequent autopsy and toxicological findings. The deceased was arrested by the police when he was found disoriented in the city of Kuala Lumpur. He was transferred to the emergency department on suspicion of drug abuse. The initial drug screening was reactive for amphetamines. Shortly after admission to the hospital, he died despite rigorous resuscitation attempts. The postmortem plain chest and abdominal radiographs revealed multiple suspicious opacities in the gastrointestinal tract attributable to body packages. An unenhanced whole body PMCT revealed twenty-five drug packages, twenty-four in the stomach and one in the transverse colon. At least two were disintegrating, and therefore leaking. The autopsy findings were consistent with the PMCT results. Toxicology confirmed the diagnosis of fatal methamphetamine intoxication.

The role of ultrasound in the visualization of the ingested medications in acute poisoning - a literature review.

In the patients with medication poisoning, diagnosis and treatment may be complicated due to the decreased level of consciousness or lack of the patient cooperation. In this review, we tried to assess the role of ultrasonography in detection of the ingested medication in the stomach of the patients with suspected medication poisoning. Of the studies performed in this regard, only one managed to determine the extended phenytoin capsules in the stomach of a poisoned patient. In actual acute poisoning - even in the hands of an experienced ultrasonographer - detection of the medications in the patients' stomach seems to be difficult due to the presence of the food or lack of the water in their stomach. Also, after dissolution of the tablets or capsules or their passage from the pylorus, they can not further been visualized by ultrasound. We, therefore, conclude that ultrasonography is not an appropriate tool for diagnosis of the medication ingestion in acute poisoning.

Development and Validation of a Radiomics Nomogram for Prognosis Prediction of Patients with Acute Paraquat Poisoning: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficiency of a radiomics model in predicting the prognosis of patients with acute paraquat poisoning (APP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Chest computed tomography images and clinical data of 80 patients with APP were obtained from November 2014 to October 2017, which were randomly assigned to a primary group and a validation group by a ratio of 7 : 3, and then the radiomics features were extracted from the whole lung. Principal component analysis (PCA) and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression were used to select the features and establish the radiomics signature (Rad-score). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to establish a radiomics prediction model incorporating the Rad-score and clinical risk factors; the model was represented by nomogram. The performance of the nomogram was confirmed by its discrimination and calibration. RESULT: The area under the ROC curve of operation was 0.942 and 0.865, respectively, in the primary and validation datasets. The sensitivity and specificity were 0.864 and 0.914 and 0.778 and 0.929, and the prediction accuracy rates were 89.5% and 87%, respectively. Predictors included in the individualized predictive nomograms include the Rad-score, blood paraquat concentration, creatine kinase, and serum creatinine. The AUC of the nomogram was 0.973 and 0.944 in the primary and validation datasets, and the sensitivity and specificity were 0.943 and 0.955, respectively, in the primary dataset and 0.889 and 0.929 in the validation dataset, and the prediction accuracy was 94.7% and 91.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The radiomics nomogram incorporates the radiomics signature and hematological laboratory data, which can be conveniently used to facilitate the individualized prediction of the prognosis of APP patients.

[Evaluation of right ventricle function by tissue Doppler imaging in patients with acute organophosphate poisoning].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the right ventricular functions of patients with acute organophosphate poisoning patient (AOPP) by measuring the velocities of tricuspid annular motion through Doppler tissue imaging (DTI). METHODS: Tissue Doppler velocity mode was employed to observe tricuspid annulus movement in 78 AOPP patients and 32 healthy adults. After tricuspid annular pulsed-wave rate of E/A were measured by traditional echocardiographic, the peak values of tricuspid annular early diastolic velocity (E(m)) and late diastolic velocity (A(m)) were analyzed by DTI. RESULTS: E/A > E(m)/A(m) > 1 was observed in health control group as well as the mild-moderate AOPP; E(m)/A(m) < E/A < 1 was observed in the severe AOPP group. There was significant difference between two groups. The right ventricular E/A correlated positively with E(m)/A(m) (P < 0.001). Pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) correlated positively with right ventricular E/Em, Tei Index (P < 0.001) and negatively with right ventricular S(m), E(m) and E(m)/A(m) (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The right ventricle functions, in terms of contraction and relaxation, decrease in severe AOPP patients versus health control and mild-moderate groups. TDI is a useful tool to assess the right ventricle functions of AOPP patients.

MRI-based brain volumetry and retinal optical coherence tomography as the biomarkers of outcome in acute methanol poisoning.

BACKGROUND: Basal ganglia lesions are typical findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain in survivors of acute methanol poisoning. However, no data are available on the association between the magnitude of damaged brain regions, serum concentrations of markers of acute methanol toxicity, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and the rate of retinal nerve ganglion cell loss. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the association between MRI-based volumetry of the basal ganglia, retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness and prognostic laboratory markers of outcomes in acute methanol poisoning. METHODS: MRI-based volumetry of putamen, nucleus caudatus and globus pallidus was performed and compared with laboratory parameters of severity of poisoning and acute serum markers of oxidative damage of lipids (8-isoprostan, MDA, HHE, HNE), nucleic acids (8-OHdG, 8-OHG, 5-OHMU), proteins (o-Thyr, NO-Thyr, Cl-Thyr) and leukotrienes (LTC4, LTD4, LTE4, LTB4), as well as with the results of RNFL measurements by optic coherence tomography (OCT) in 16 patients with acute methanol poisoning (Group I) and in 28 survivors of poisoning two years after discharge with the same markers measured within the follow-up examination (Group II). The control group consisted of 28 healthy subjects without methanol poisoning. RESULTS: The survivors of acute methanol poisoning had significantly lower volumes of basal ganglia than the controls. The patients with MRI signs of methanol-induced toxic brain damage had significantly lower volumes of basal ganglia than those without these signs. A positive correlation was found between the volume of putamen and arterial blood pH on admission (r = 0.45; p = 0.02 and r = 0.44; p = 0.02 for left and right putamen, correspondingly). A negative correlation was present between the volumes of putamen and acute serum lactate (r = -0.63; p < 0.001 and r = -0.59; p = 0.01), creatinine (r = -0.53; p = 0.01 and r = -0.47; p = 0.01) and glucose (r = -0.55; p < 0.001 and r = -0.50; p = 0.01) concentrations. The volume of basal ganglia positively correlated with acute concentrations of markers of lipoperoxidation (8-isoprostan: r = 0.61; p < 0.05 and r = 0.59; p < 0.05 for left and right putamen, correspondingly) and inflammation (leukotriene LTB4: r = 0.61; p < 0.05 and r = 0.61; p < 0.05 for left and right putamen, correspondingly). The higher the volume of the basal ganglia, the higher the thickness of the RNFL, with the strongest positive association between global RNFL and the volume of putamen bilaterally (all p < 0.01). In the follow-up markers of oxidative stress and inflammation, only o-Thyr concentration negatively correlated with the volume of putamen bilaterally (r = -0.39; p < 0.05 and r = -0.37; p < 0.05 for left and right putamen, correspondingly). CONCLUSION: In survivors of acute methanol poisoning with signs of toxic brain damage, the magnitude of affected areas correlated with acute parameters of severity of poisoning, markers of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. There was a positive association between the basal ganglia volume and the thickness of RNFL, making OCT an important screening test and MRI-based volumetry the confirmative diagnostic method for the detection of CNS sequelae of methanol poisoning.

Mortality and factors associated with phosphide poisoning: prospective cohort study / Mortalidad y factores asociados con intoxicación por fosfuros: estudio de cohorte prospectiva

Background: Aluminum and zinc phosphides are solid fumigants for pest control. Metal phosphide poisoning (PP) is common in suicide and suicide attempts. In Mexico, zinc phosphide is easily available, and is a common agent in poisonings. Objective: To identify mortality in PP, and associated factors in a poison control center. Material and methods: Prospective cohort study. The starting point was the exposure (PP) and it was made a follow-up on the outcome (mortality and non-mortality). Main factors associated to PP outcome were assessed (e.g.: personal and clinical factors, duration of poisoning, detoxification, and radiographic evidence of poisoning). It was used relative risk (RR) as a risk estimator with 95% CI, as well as chi-squared with Fisher's exact test, Kaplan-Meier survival curves, and Log- Rank test as a comparative mean. Results: 44 exposed patients, and 88 non-exposed were followed up. Mortality rate in PP was of 16% in acute phase patients; there were no deaths in either subacute or chronic phases. Mortality risk was 14 (95% CI, 2 110). Main factors associated with increased mortality were: time of first medical assistance > 6 hours, RR = 15 (95% CI, 1.7-128); dose of poison ≥ 1 bottle or 1 tablet, RR = 14 (95% CI, 1.8-108); radiographic evidence of poisoning, RR = 10 (95% CI, 1.3 77). Conclusion: Metal PP has a high mortality rate and is associated to long periods of exposure to the toxic chemical due to ineffective detoxification.

Introducción: los fosfuros de aluminio y zinc son fumigantes sólidos para controlar plagas. La intoxicación por fosfuros (IpF) es un método común en suicidios o intentos de suicidio. En México los fosfuros son de fácil distribución y son un agente común en las intoxicaciones. Objetivo: identificar la mortalidad en la IpF y los factores asociados en un centro de toxicología. Material y métodos: estudio de cohorte prospectiva. Se partió de la exposición (IpF) y se siguió el desenlace (mortalidad y no mortalidad). Se evaluaron los principales factores asociados al desenlace de IpF (por ejemplo: clínicos, personales, tiempo de la intoxicación, descontaminación y evidencia radiográfica). Para estimar el riesgo se empleó el riesgo relativo (RR), con IC al 95%, chi cuadrada con prueba exacta de Fisher, curvas de supervivencia de Kaplan-Meier y su comparación por medio de Log-Rank. Resultados: se siguieron 44 pacientes expuestos y 88 no expuestos. La mortalidad por fosfuros fue del 16% de los pacientes intoxicados en la fase aguda; no hubo mortalidad en la fase subaguda y crónica. El riesgo de mortalidad fue de 14 (IC 95%: 2-110). Los factores de mayor magnitud asociados a la mortalidad en la IpF fueron: tiempo de primera atención > 6 horas, RR = 15 (IC 95% 1.7 128); dosis del tóxico ≥ 1 frasco o 1 pastilla, RR = 14 (IC 95%: 1.8 108); evidencia radiográfica del tóxico RR = 10, (IC 95%: 1.3 77). Conclusiones: la intoxicación por fosfuros metálicos tiene alta mortalidad y está asociada a estados prolongados de exposición al tóxico por descontaminación inadecuada.

Efficacy of abdominal computed tomography and nasogastric tube in acute poisoning patients.

Abdominal computed tomography aids in the evaluation of the conditions in the stomach and will decrease needless gastric lavage in acute poisoning patients. A 16-year-old girl with a history of schizophrenia with depressive disorder was taken to our hospital. Her Glasgow Coma Scale was 8. Symptoms related to anticholinergic effects were strongly present. Her electrocardiogram showed sinus tachycardia with 60 milliseconds of QRS duration. Computed tomography images showed that the patient had a large amount of debris derived from tablets in her stomach and duodenum. We performed gastric aspiration through a nasogastric tube and not gastric lavage, and it took 5 minutes to complete the procedure. We administered activated charcoal 3 times. Intubation was not performed. Other than tonic-clonic seizure that was observed once, neither cardiovascular nor neurologic symptoms were observed. She recovered fully and admitted that she had ingested more than a hundred tablets almost 10 hours before being brought to our hospital. Computed tomography images show a cluster of tablets and debris to be of a higher density than tissues; this allows quantitative and qualitative evaluations to be performed. We were able to treat the patient with effective use of nasogastric tube.

Comparison of SPECT findings and neuropsychological sequelae in carbon monoxide and organophosphate poisoning.

Abnormal regional cerebral blood flow in patients with acute carbon monoxide (CO) and organophosphate (OP) poisoning was examined using (99m)Tc-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (HMPAO) brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in fourteen patients. We evaluated the predictive significance of acute phase brain SPECT findings for long-term neuropsychological sequelae. Changes were found in the frontal, temporal, parietal lobes within the first week after both types of poisoning. The distribution of the hypoperfused cerebral areas as demonstrated by (99m)Tc-HMPAO imaging was similar in the two groups during the acute phase. Neuropsychological sequelae developed in five patients poisoned with OP and six with CO. Patients who had SPECT findings heterogeneously or in the temporal or frontal lobes displayed disorientation. Those with fronto-parietal and frontal lobe changes displayed mental confusion. Parkinsonism also was observed in patients with parieto-occipital, parietal and frontal lobe lesions. The distribution of these lesions appears to predict the long term sequelae of these poisonings, though additional studies with larger numbers of patients are needed to confirm the role of SPECT imaging in both OP and CO poisonings.

[Quantitative analysis of heart scintigraphy (99mTc-MIBI GSPECT) with regional myocardial wall motion and thickening assessment for detecting myocardial injury in patients after acute paracetamol poisoning]. / Zastosowanie analizy ilosciowej badania 99mtc- MIBI GSPECT z ocena odcinkowej ruchomosci scian i grubienia skurczowego miesnia lewej komory w aspekcie oceny stopnia ogluszenia miesnia sercowego w ostrym zatruciu paracetamolem.

UNLABELLED: The aim of the study was to evaluate the myocardium function in acute paracetamol poisoning using 19mTc-MIBI GSPECT. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Under examination there were 25 acutely paracetamol poisoned patients (age: 24.5 +/- 6 years) treated at the Ward of Toxicology and Environmental Diseases. The control group necessary to perform quantitative analysis of myocardial scintigraphy consisted of 20 people examined in Nuclear Medicine Unit with normal results of 99mTc-MIBI GSPECT examination. RESULTS: The quantitative analysis of the heart scintigraphy (GSPECT) revealed that, the average value of left ventricle ejection fraction (EF) in examined women and men after paracetamol poisoning was lower than in control group, while end diastolic (EDV) and end systolic volumes (ESV) were higher; these differences were not statistically significant. Indicators of regional wall motion of the left ventricle were lower for the most of the heart segments. According to the control group, they were significantly lower for anterior and inferior LV segments. Wall thickening analysis revealed the impaired systolic thickening of majority of heart segments in examined group of patients; the wall thickening was the lowest for infero-lateral and septal segments in women and for inferior, infero-lateral and anterior segments in men. CONCLUSIONS: The quantitative analysis of myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (99mTc-MIBI GSPECT) with wall motion and wall thickening assessment, showed that the left ventricle function was usually diffusely depressed in paracetamol poisoned patients. The disturbances of regional wall motion of anterior and inferior wall (LV) were mainly visible.

Postmortem computed tomography findings in suicide victims.

Suicide is the eighth cause of mortality in France and the leading cause in people aged between 25 and 34 years. The most common methods of suicide are hanging, self-poisoning with medicines and firearms. Postmortem computed tomography (CT) is a useful adjunct to autopsy to confirm suicide and exclude other causes of death. At autopsy, fractures of the hyoid bone or thyroid cartilage, or both, are found in more than 50% of suicidal hangings. Cervical vertebra fractures are rare and only seen in suicide victims jumping from a great height. Three-dimensional reconstructions from CT data are useful to visualize the ligature mark on the neck. In suicides by firearm, postmortem CT shows entry and exit wounds, parenchymal lesions along the bullet path, as well as projectiles in case of penetrating trauma. However, in the chest and abdomen it is more difficult to identify the path of the projectile. Postmortem CT also shows specific features of suicide by drowning or stabbing, but its use is limited in cases of self-poisoning. The use of postmortem CT is also limited by decomposition and change of body position. This article presents the imaging features seen on postmortem CT according to the method of suicide.

The value of morphological neuroimaging after acute exposure to toxic substances.

Many toxic agents induce brain dysfunction and/or lesions. Modern neuroimaging techniques, such as CT and more recently magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), are able to demonstrate toxic brain lesions at both early and delayed phases of disease progression. In the early phase, neuroimaging enables the detection of acutely injured brain areas responsible for sudden onset of neurological dysfunction, but the severity and the extension of brain lesions on neuroimages do not necessarily parallel the severity of the clinical status. In the chronic phase, when neurological dysfunction has become permanent, neuroimaging allows precise identification of neuroanatomical sequelae that do not necessarily match the severity of the chronic neurological impairment. Papers in the medical imaging literature have dealt mainly with the brain changes induced by 'chronic exposure' to toxic substances such as solvents or heavy metals. This article selectively reviews the main radiological changes observed on CT/magnetic resonance (MR) neuroimages after 'acute exposure' to industrial products (methanol [methyl alcohol], ethylene glycol), environmental agents (cyanide, carbon monoxide), pharmaceuticals (insulin, valproic acid) and illicit substances (heroin, cocaine). Different kinds of lesions, which lack specificity for toxic injury, can be observed on radiological images, but deep grey matter lesions with symmetrical distribution throughout basal ganglia are most often seen. However, such findings have also been reported after anoxic-ischaemic insults or during severe metabolic disturbances. Lesions in the white matter may also be present in the case of acute exposure to toxic agents. The true prognostic value of toxic-induced brain changes in the acute phase in CT or MR studies is unclear, although serial MRI may add new information as may quantitative or molecular imaging techniques such as the MR diffusion-weighted imaging or MR spectroscopy.

Infrared image monitoring of local anesthetic poisoning in rats.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the thermographic predictive value of local anesthetic poisoning in rats that indicates the early recognition of thermal signs of intoxication and enable the immediate start of advanced life support. METHODS: Wistar rats underwent intraperitoneal injection of saline and ropivacaine; they were allocated into pairs, and experiments performed at baseline and experimental times. For thermography, central and peripheral compartment were analyzed, checking the maximum and average differences of temperatures between groups. Thermographic and clinical observations were performed for each experiment, and the times in which the signs of intoxication occurred were recorded. In the thermal analysis, the thermograms corresponding to the times of interest were sought and relevant data sheets extracted for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Basal and experimental: the display of the thermal images at times was possible. It was possible to calculate the heat transfer rate in all cases. At baseline it was possible to see the physiology of microcirculation, characterized by thermal distribution in the craniocaudal direction. It was possible to visualize the pathophysiological changes or thermal dysautonomias caused by intoxication before clinical signs occur, characterized by areas of hyper-radiation, translating autonomic nervous system pathophysiological disorders. In animals poisoned by ropivacaine, there was no statistically significant difference in heat transfer rate at the experimental time. CONCLUSIONS: The maximum temperature, medium temperature, and heat transfer rate were different from the statistical point of view between groups at the experimental time, thus confirming the systemic thermographic predictive value.

Pneumomediastinum predicts early mortality in acute paraquat poisoning.

CONTEXT: In paraquat (PQ) poisoning, death often occurs after the appearance of pneumomediastinum (PM). However, the clinical features and eventual outcome of PM in PQ intoxication remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to characterize PM following PQ poisoning and its prognostic value for predicting mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Enrolled PQ-poisoned patients (n = 75) were divided into two groups according to whether PM could be detected by chest computed tomography or not. The study outcomes included 5- and 90-day death after intoxication. Survival curves were derived using the Kaplan-Meier method, and mortality risk factors were analyzed by forward stepwise Cox regression analysis. RESULTS: PM was documented in 21.3% of the patients (16/75); in 13 of them PM set in within 3 days of PQ ingestion. 15 patients died within 3 days of appearance of PM. Compared with patients without PM, those with PM were younger (P = 0.011), and had higher scores of Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (P < 0.001) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (P = 0.003). In addition, patients with PM had a higher incidence of acute renal failure (P = 0.001), toxic hepatitis (P = 0.008), and respiratory insufficiency (P = 0.003). PM predicted an increased risk of 90-day death (93.8% of patients with PM vs. 40.7% among those without PM; hazard ratio [HR], 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0-5.6; P = 0.045), and increased risk of 5-day death (81.3% vs. 27.1%; HR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.2-8.1; P = 0.017). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Early PM, occurring within 8 days, is a specific predictor of mortality in PQ poisoning.

Acute paraquat intoxication: using nuclear pulmonary studies to predict patient outcome.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Paraquat, a widely used herbicide, has been shown to cause severe and often fatal pulmonary fibrosis in humans and laboratory animals. Although paraquat is known to be directly cytotoxic to lung parenchyma, changes in routine lung scintigraphy results after acute paraquat intoxication have not been reported. The objective of this project was to investigate changes in lung ventilation (LV) and alveolar permeability (AP) in patients with paraquat intoxication, using 99mTc diethylenetriamine pentaacetate (DTPA) radioaerosol lung scintigraphy. DESIGN: Prospective, blinded study. SETTING: Nuclear medicine and toxicology departments in two university-affiliated teaching hospitals. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS: Thirteen patients with acute paraquat intoxication were included in this study. Ten volunteers without acute paraquat intoxication were studied for comparison. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: 99mTc DTPA aerosol inhalation and 99mTc macroaggregated albumin (MAA) perfusion lung scintigraphies were performed to determine LV, AP, and lung perfusion (LP). Five of the 13 patients (38%) had significant LV abnormalities; 3 of these 5 patients also showed abnormal LP. Of the 13 patients, 4 patients (31%) showed normal AP and survived. The remaining 9 patients (69%) showed abnormal AP and died. The mean values for AP were statistically different (p < 0.01) between survivor (0.72 +/- 0.16%) and nonsurvivor (1.52 +/- 0.40%) groups. Data from the normal volunteers and survival patients showed a 99mTc clearance slope < 1.00%. Data from patients who died showed a clearance slope > 1.00%. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that AP, measured by 99mTc DTPA aerosol inhalation lung scintigraphy, may help predict outcome in patients with paraquat intoxication.

MR findings in methanol intoxication.

We report the MR and CT findings with pathologic correlation in a case of severe methanol intoxication. There was bilateral hemorrhagic necrosis of the putamen and caudate nuclei and, in addition, extensive subcortical necrosis and symmetric bilateral necrosis of the pontine tegmentum and optic nerves, which may indicate poor prognosis.

[The value of abdominal radiographs in the diagnosis of bromurea intoxication (author's transl)]. / Zur Wertigkeit der Abdomen-Leeraufnahme bei der Bromureid-Intoxikation.

Brom-substituted mono-urea hypnotics, which may be taken with suicidal intent, can be demonstrated radiologically. The value of routine abdominal x-rays in the recognition of intoxications has been examined at the University Clinic, Ulm, on patients admitted in 1976 and 1977. It has been shown that it is usually possible radiographically to indicate whether bromurea compounds have been taken in significant quantities, The bromurea has low solubility in the stomach and it is therefore possible to demonstrate the amount and type of substance present; this has some bearing on immediate treatment. Rapid removal of the toxic substance is so important for effective treatment that routine abdominal radiographs appear indicated for all life-threatening intoxications. Confusion with other opaque substances in practise is confined to preparations containing bismuth; although these are widely used, they have no significant toxicity.