Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jul 16, 2021; 9(20): 5588-5593
Published online Jul 16, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i20.5588
Can kissing cause paraquat poisoning: A case report and review of literature
Bing Lv, Dong-Feng Han, Jing Chen, Hai-Bin Zhao, Xiao-Liang Liu
Bing Lv, Dong-Feng Han, Xiao-Liang Liu, Emergency Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, China
Jing Chen, Hai-Bin Zhao, Department of Endocrinology and Nephrology, Central Hospital of Tonghua, Tonghua 134000, Jilin Province, China
Author contributions: All of the authors contributed to the conception and writing of the article; all of the authors approved the version to be submitted.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Liang Liu, PhD, Doctor, Emergency Department, First Hospital of Jilin University, No. 71 Xinmin Street, Changchun 130000, Jilin Province, China.l_xl@jlu.edu.cn
Received: December 26, 2020
Peer-review started: December 26, 2020
First decision: April 29, 2021
Revised: May 7, 2021
Accepted: May 20, 2021
Article in press: May 20, 2021
Published online: July 16, 2021
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Paraquat is an effective, broad-spectrum, highly toxic quaternary ammonium herbicide. Paraquat poisoning has been reported frequently in recent years. It has severe lung, kidney, liver, and nervous system toxicity, and there is currently no specific antidote. Paraquat poisoning may follow ingestion, inhalation, and skin contact. There have been no previous reports of paraquat poisoning that resulted from kissing. This rare case provides a new reference for the prevention of paraquat poisoning.

CASE SUMMARY

A 27-year-old man came to the emergency department complaining that he had come into contact with paraquat by kissing his girlfriend, who had taken 80-120 mL 20% paraquat. After admission, his lung computed tomography (CT) showed increased lung markings. Redness and a burning sensation developed on his tongue, which progressed to painful erosions and coalescent ulcers. The final diagnosis was mild paraquat poisoning. Anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and symptomatic treatment were initiated and continued for 7 d. Dyspnea did not occur, subsequent lung CT showed no significant changes, and the tongue pain was slightly improved. One month after discharge, the tongue injury was resolved.

CONCLUSION

This case indicated that the tongue and lung tissues are particularly vulnerable to paraquat toxicity, even after a limited exposure.

Keywords: Paraquat, Poisoning, Pesticides, Tongue, Lung, Case report

Core Tip: We report a rare case of exposure to a trace amount of paraquat by kissing, which has never been reported before. This case was accidental, but it reminds us that we should pay attention to trace paraquat poisoning because it has damaging effects, especially on the tongue.