Epidemiology of organophosphate pesticide poisoning in Taiwan.

Introduction: The nationwide epidemiology of organophosphate pesticide (OP) poisoning has never been reported in detail for Taiwan.

Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed all human OP exposures reported to Taiwan's Poison Control Centers (PCCs) from July 1985 through December 2006.

Results: There were 4799 OP exposures. Most OP exposures were acute (98.37%) ingestions (74.50%) of a single OP (80.37%) to attempt suicide (64.72%) in adults (93.25%). Males were the most common gender (64.95%). Most patients (61.97%) received atropine and/or pralidoxime. The mortality rate for all 4799 OP exposures was 12.71%. Exposures to single OPs without co-intoxicants caused 524 deaths; of these, 63.36% were due to dimethyl OPs.

Conclusion: Dimethyl OPs cause the majority of deaths in Taiwan.