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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Avicenna J Med 2021; 11(01): 58-61
DOI: 10.4103/ajm.ajm_156_20
Case Report

Accidental poisoning with aluminum phosphide presenting with excessive cholinergic symptoms with response to atropine: A case report

Abubakar Muhammad Shakur
Department of Paediatrics, Cardiopulmonary Unit, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Kano State
,
Nuhu Abubakar Garba
Department of Paediatrics, Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, Yobe State
,
Ibrahim Ahmadu
Department of Paediatrics, Cardiopulmonary Unit, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Kano State
,
Daniel Apollos
Department of Paediatrics, Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, Gombe State, Nigeria
,
Mustafa O Asani
Department of Paediatrics, Cardiopulmonary Unit, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Kano State
,
Ibrahim Aliyu
Department of Paediatrics, Cardiopulmonary Unit, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano, Kano State
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Abstract

Accidental poisoning in children, though underreported in our environment, is common and could prove fatal. It is important to identify the primary chemical agent that is responsible for the poisoning. We present a case of accidental ingestion of fish poisoned with aluminum phosphide (AlP) used as rat poisoning by a 14-month-old girl. At presentation, the actual chemical content of the poison was not available and clinical features were suggestive of organophosphate poisoning. She was commenced on atropine together with other treatment, on which she made remarkable improvement. The atropine was continued with complete resolution of symptoms on the third day of admission. We, therefore, report a serendipitous use of atropine in the management of AlP poisoning with successful outcome.

Keywords

Aluminum phosphide - atropine - organophosphate - poisoning - rat poisoning


Publication History

Article published online:
06 August 2021

© 2021. Syrian American Medical Society. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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