Epidemiology of organophosphate pesticide poisoning in Taiwan

Introduction. The nationwide epidemiology of organophosphate pesticide (OP) poisoning has never been reported in detail for Taiwan. Methods. This study retrospectively reviewed all human OP exposures reported to Taiwan's Poison Control Centers (PCCs) from July 1985 through December 2006. Results. There were 4799 OP exposures. Most OP exposures were acute (98.37%) ingestions (74.50%) of a single OP (80.37%) to attempt suicide (64.72%) in adults (93.25%). Males were the most common gender (64.95%). Most patients (61.97%) received atropine and or pralidoxime. The mortality rate for all 4799 OP exposures was 12.71%. Exposures to single OPs without co-intoxicants caused 524 deaths; of these, 63.36% were due to dimethyl OPs. Conclusion. Dimethyl OPs cause the majority of deaths in Taiwan.