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Surviving accidental paraquat ingestion: a limited evidence zone

Elise Davey, Justin Davis and Deborah Friedman
Med J Aust 2015; 203 (8): . || doi: 10.5694/mja15.00589
Published online: 19 October 2015

A 17-year-old youth accidentally ingested paraquat, a herbicide which is an uncommon but potentially highly lethal cause of poisoning. He was initially managed at a regional hospital where, upon advice from a Victorian Poisons Information Centre toxicologist, he was commenced on dexamethasone, continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF), and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and sodium salicylate infusions. He was transferred to a transplant centre for consideration of lung transplantation where he was maintained on CVVHDF, dexamethasone and NAC for 2 weeks. Fortunately, despite ingestion of a potentially lethal dose of paraquat at 36.48 mg/kg, he recovered with mild restrictive respiratory deficits, steroid side effects, and oropharyngeal burns as sequelae.


  • 1 Barwon Health, Geelong, VIC
  • 2 University Hospital Geelong, Geelong, VIC


Correspondence: justinbdavis19@gmail.com

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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