Brodifacoum is a highly lethal vitamin K antagonist anticoagulant poison. In recent years, it has become one of the world's most widely used pesticides. It is typically used as a rodenticide but is also used to control larger mammalian pests such as possum.
Brodifacoum has an especially long half-life in the body, which ranges to several months, requiring prolonged treatment with antidotal vitamin K for both human and pet poisonings.
The primary antidote to brodifacoum poisoning is immediate administration of vitamin K1 (dosage for humans: initially slow intravenous injections of 10–25 mg repeated all 3–6 hours until normalisation of the prothrombin time; then 10 mg orally four times daily as a "maintenance dose"). It is an extremely effective antidote, provided the poisoning is caught before too much damage has been done to the victim's circulatory system. As high doses of brodifacoum can affect the body for many months, the antidote must be administered regularly for a long period (several months, in keeping with the substance's half-life) with frequent monitoring of the prothrombin time.[10]
If unabsorbed poison is still in the digestive system, gastric lavage followed by administration of activated charcoal may be required.
Further treatments to be considered include infusion of blood or plasma to counteract hypovolemic shock; and in severe cases, infusion of blood clotting factor concentrate.
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carisma_sensei
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Date: 2011-12-06 10:36 pm (UTC)Brodifacoum is a highly lethal vitamin K antagonist anticoagulant poison. In recent years, it has become one of the world's most widely used pesticides. It is typically used as a rodenticide but is also used to control larger mammalian pests such as possum.
Brodifacoum has an especially long half-life in the body, which ranges to several months, requiring prolonged treatment with antidotal vitamin K for both human and pet poisonings.
The primary antidote to brodifacoum poisoning is immediate administration of vitamin K1 (dosage for humans: initially slow intravenous injections of 10–25 mg repeated all 3–6 hours until normalisation of the prothrombin time; then 10 mg orally four times daily as a "maintenance dose"). It is an extremely effective antidote, provided the poisoning is caught before too much damage has been done to the victim's circulatory system. As high doses of brodifacoum can affect the body for many months, the antidote must be administered regularly for a long period (several months, in keeping with the substance's half-life) with frequent monitoring of the prothrombin time.[10]
If unabsorbed poison is still in the digestive system, gastric lavage followed by administration of activated charcoal may be required.
Further treatments to be considered include infusion of blood or plasma to counteract hypovolemic shock; and in severe cases, infusion of blood clotting factor concentrate.
Killer Couch.