Abstract

Although the Clinical description of central nervous system toxicity during the early phases of acute poisoning has been provided in the existing scientific literature, the electrographic mapping of the alteration in electrical activity of the brain due to poison is rarely available, especially in Indian subcontinent. Moreover, despite the prevalence of organophosphorus compound poisoning (OPC) in this territory, there is a dearth of studies on the electroencephalographic (EEG) changes caused by OPC poisoning. Hence, this study was conducted with the aim to fill this gap in research. Material and Methods: This observational study was conducted in Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, Ajmer, from February 2018 to October 2019. A Total of 100 patients participated in this study. The patients' EEG changes and their correlation with severity and prognosis were examined. Results: The patients who presented with abnormal EEG changes were found to have a delayed hospitalization of 4.82±1.25 hours compared to the patients presenting with normal EEG results who were found to have a delayed hospitalization of 2.92±1.56 hours. This suggests that delayed hospitalization leads to the delayed removal of OPC poison and poor prognosis. Out of the 100 cases 78 (78%) showed normal background alpha rhythm while, 14 (14%) showed high-amplitude slow waves, and 8 (8%) showed spikes. Moreover, out of the 6 expired cases, 4 (66.66%) showed abnormal EEG and 2 cases (33.33%) normal EEG. Furthermore, out of the 78 cases with normal EEG, only 2 (2.56%) expired, whereas out of the 22 cases with abnormal EEG, 4 (18.18%) expired. Conclusion: It was found that abnormal EEG results in poor prognosis hence, it's an important investigation for monitoring OPC poisoning.

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