Demographic profile and clinical picture of patients presented with Paraphenylene Diamine (PPD)/ Kala Pathar poisoning at a District Teaching Hospital

Akbar, Sheraz; Siddiqui, Zahid Kamal; Diwan, Rana Aamir; Rehm, Muhammad Hassam

OBJECTIVES: To document demographic profile, clinical features and management of patients presented with PPD/Kala Pathar poisoning at District Teaching Hospital Sahiwal, Pakistan. METHODS: This cross-sectional study utilized data for cases of PPD poisoning presented at study place from 1(st) July 2019 to 30(th) June 2020. Relevant information was recorded on a proforma. RESULTS: A total of 111 cases were included in study. Mean age was 23.01 ± 7.24 years. Majority of cases were observed in females (82%) and majority presented from rural areas (87.4%). Cervico-facial edema (78.4%) and respiratory distress (66.7%) were the most common findings. Evidence of some level of organ damage was recorded in following manner: kidneys (44.1%), musculoskeletal (50.5%) and cardiac (45.9%). Tracheostomy was carried out in 47.7% cases and dialysis in 11.7% cases. All cases ingested PPD in raw form. Mortality rate was 50.5%. CONCLUSION: PPD poisoning is associated with high rate of morbidity and mortality. Effective clinical management requires multidisciplinary approach. Measures to restrict access to this means of suicide are urgently needed. We need to set up a surveillance system for cases of attempted suicide.