Emergency & Critical Medicine » Poisoning

Aluminium phosphide poisoning

AlP is used as a rodenticide, insecticide and fumigant for stored cereal grains. It is used to kill small verminous mammals such as rodents. In contact with water or acids, it releases phosphine, which acts as a fumigant; with acids, the reaction is much faster. The mode of poisoning can be accidental, suicidal or homicidal. The exposure can be via oral route or by inhalation route. Suicidal ingestion of phosphides causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, retrosternal and abdominal pain, tightness in the chest and coughing, shock, cardiac arrhythmias, headache and dizziness. In very severe cases pulmonary oedema, convulsions, hyperthermia gastrointestinal haemorrhage, tachycardia, hypotension, hypothermia, metabolic acidosis, cyanosis, and coma may occur. Life supportive procedures and symptomatic treatment according to the severity of exposure is given.

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