Risk Stratification and Heterogeneity for Organ Damage in Acute Diquat Poisoning

Risk Stratification and Heterogeneity for Organ Damage in Acute Diquat Poisoning: A Multi-Center Cohort Study

This ambispective cohort study aims to characterize the relationship between plasma diquat concentrations and organ damage risk.

Inclusion criteria:

1. history of oral exposure to diquat solution reported by patient or proxy;
2. a specimen for the diquat plasma concentration collected immediately upon admission;
3. documentation that patients or, in case of unconsciousness of the patient, legal proxies were aware of and agreed to treatment plans.

Exclusion criteria:

1. they had ingested other toxins in addition to diquat (qualitative toxicological screening tests);
2. diquat was not detected in specimens, or plasma concentration data were unavailable;
3. patients with an exposure time (time from exposure to emergency department presentation) longer than 48 hours;
4. data on organ damage were not unavailable;
5. combined with other central nervous system injuries other than toxic encephalopathy.