Journal of AdvancedMedical and Dental Sciences Research

Introduction: Organophosphorous compounds used worldwide as pesticides and it easy availability has led to an increase in the incidence of both intentional and accidental poisoning of the same. The incidence is slightly more in the developing nations. Easily available biomarkers which can be made available in rural setups; which help in determining the severity of organophosphorous poisoning is currently the need of the hour. Aim: To study the usefulness of C - reactive protein (CRP) levels in determining prognosis in patients of acute organophosphorous poisoning. Settings and design: This is a prospective, observational study done in a single setting in a tertiary care center in coastal Karnataka. Materials and methods: All patients who had a history of consumption/contact of organophosphorous compounds, clinical features characteristic of organophosphorous compound poisoning and those patients having response to treatment with oximes and atropine during the study period of one year were included in the study. Cases of carbamate poisoning, obese patients, smoker, history of allergy, history of recent trauma, surgery or burns, features suggestive of sepsis on admission, known cases of cancers, known cases of autoimmune diseases, history of recent myocardial infarction were the exclusion criteria. Statistical analysis: All categorical and continuous variables were presented as mean±standard deviation and median with interquartile distance (Q1-Q3), where required. Mann- Whitney U test was used to analyze the difference between the means of two groups (CRP negative cases and CRP positive cases). Chi square tests were used to analyze the categorical variables. Results: Among the 30 patients studied, parathion was the most commonly used organophosphorous compound. 43% of patients had elevated C-reactive protein levels. 46% among these patients required intubation and mechanical ventilation whereas none of the patients with normal C-reactive protein levels required mechanical ventilator supports (p<0.05). Conclusion: Elevated serum C-reactive protein level has good correlation with severity of poisoning and it can be used as alternative index for severity assessment of organophosphorous poisoning.