Abstract:

Objective To enhance the understanding of the clinical characteristics of diquat poisoning in children. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of eight pediatric patients diagnosed with diquat poisoning at our hospital. "Diquat" and "diquat poisoning" were used as keywords to search in CNKI, Wanfang and PubMed database from inception to April 2024. Previous case reports were reviewed and summarized. Results Among the eight cases, there were two males and six females aged 3-14 years who ingested 1-180 g of poison. Six cases exhibited gastrointestinal symptoms, four cases showed varying degrees of lung injury, and two cases presented with severe neurological symptoms. The patients received gastric lavage, rehydration, and blood purification therapy. Ultimately, six patients survived, while two (25%) died. Additionally, sixteen cases from nine published papers were analyzed, revealing that nine cases developed different degrees of lung injury. All twelve cases reported in China survived, whereas four cases reported internationally and the two fatalities in this study exhibited earlier-onset severe neurological symptoms. Conclusion Lung injury caused by mild-to-moderate diquat poisoning in children is reversible, but severe diquat poisoning can progress rapidly and lead to multiple organ failure. Patients presenting with early severe neurological symptoms generally have a poor prognosis.

Key words: diquat, diquat poisoning, child, literature review