Data concerning clinical cases of pesticide poisoning from 1998 to 2002 from the hospitals affiliated with the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine were analyzed. 346 cases of poisoning by agricultural chemicals were reported from 65 hospitals. Suicides accounted for 70% of pesticide poisoning cases, followed by accidental exposures during spraying work (16%) and accidental ingestion (8%). The majority of cases were acute or subacute systemic poisonings (90%), followed by acute dermatitis (5%) and chemical burns (3%). Organophosphate insecticide was the most frequent inducer of clinical cases (36%), followed by bipyridylium herbicide (20%) and carbamate insecticide (6%). The death rate from poisoning by the herbicide paraquat was more than 70% of clinical cases, even though it is a low-concentration product, whereas those from the alternative herbicides, glufosinate and glyphosate, were less than 10%.

Objective: Paraquat poisoning occurs worldwide, and both the fatality rate and the number of deaths are out of the ordinary. Japan is one of the few countries in the world that have replaced 24% products with 5% products. This report is an attempt to introduce information about paraquat poisoning in Japan.Methods: The Japanese Association of Rural Medicine has carried out extensive surveys on clinical cases of pesticide poisoning at its 122 member installations since 2007. Of all the findings, we have picked out and evaluated those concerned with paraquat poisoning.Findings: Twenty-two out of 28 persons who attempted to commit suicide with paraquat died in 2007–2011. The rate of deaths from suicide attempts with paraquat stands at somewhere near 80% or so even with 5% products, so it appears that the attempts to reduce the death rate did not have the intended effect even with products having a lower concentration.Conclusion: The “outcome prediction line” propounded in 1979 still stands today, while a wide variety of therapies have been studied. It seems that paraquat should at least be classified into Class Ib (highly hazardous) given that the mortality remains high and efficacious therapies remain elusive.

Background : Paraquat has been a matter of grave concern around the world, including Japan, in light of high mortality rates and numerous fatalities. Method

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