Analysis of respiratory complications during artificial ventilation of the lungs in patients with organophosphorus compound poisoning

: The authors analyze the respiratory complications in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF) developing as a result of poisoning with organophosphorous (OPC). Twenty-two percent of 470 patients had to be maintained on forced ventilation because of ARF. The indications for forced ventilation of the lungs are as follows: paralysis of respiratory muscles, 90% drop of vital capacity of the lungs, and disorders of the gaseous composition of the blood (PaCO2 over 56 +/- 3 mm Hg and PaO2 below 67 +/- 5 mm Hg). The incidence of respiratory complications among patients on forced ventilation was as high as 92%, which is due to the pathogenesis of the chemical disease developing after OPC poisoning. The complications are the most incident among men aged 30 to 60. The respiratory distress syndrome of adults ranks first among the respiratory complications. It was diagnosed in 70.6% of dead subjects in 34.4% of convalescents. This syndrome is one main cause of high mortality, particularly so in subjects dying in three or more days of intensive care. The duration of forced ventilation of the lungs does not depend on the time when the patient was transferred on ventilation or on the poison. Analysis of mortality indicates that it is lower among patients administered forced ventilation at the prehospital stage.