Occupational Paraquat Exposure Cases Reported to the Ramathibodi Poison Center

OBJECTIVE Paraquat (PQ) is a widely used non-specific herbicide. Para-quat poisoning both from intentional and unintentional exposure has been reported. The main objective of this study is to report on the characteristics, clinical effects, and outcomes of occupational PQ exposure reported to a poison control center in Thailand. The secondary objective is to determine factors associated with systemic toxicity from occupational PQ exposure.METHODS This is a retrospective study of cases of occupational PQ exposure reported to the Ramathibodi Poison Center between January 2018 and December 2021.RESULTS There were 124 PQ exposure cases during the study period, including 102 males and 22 females. Median age was 46 years (in-terquartile range 35.5-55.5 years). Routes of exposure included der-mal (54.8%), inhalational (37.1%), and ocular (13.7%). Commonly used personal protective equipment (PPE) included trousers (18.5%), long-sleeve shirts (16.9%), and balaclavas (10.4%). Of the 68 dermal exposures, 23 (33.8%) reported having attempted skin decontamina-tion prior to visiting the hospital. Systemic effects were reported in 22 cases (17.7%), including kidney injury (1