Volume 72 Number 5 September 2005	back to contents

From the Departments of 1Emergency Medicine and 2Forensic Sciences, Cukurova University School of Medicine, Balcali, Adana, Turkey.

Address all correspondence to Ahmet Sebe, M.D., Cukurova University, School of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, 01330 Balcali, Adana, Turkey; email: asebe@cu.edu.tr

Accepted for publication March 2005.

ABSTRACT

The increasing use of organophosphorus insecticides in agriculture and inside homes and schools, as well as its widespread existence in the environment, poses a potential health hazard. As the use of these agents increases, acute and chronic exposure has become more common. As with other organophosphates, chlorpyrifos kills insects and other animals, including human beings, because of its toxicity to the nervous system. Exposure of pregnant women to organophosphates is an important clinical entity because of its effects on two organisms—mother and fetus. There are few reports about fetal toxicity of organophosphates in the literature because of the relatively few cases reported. In this paper we report a case of intoxication from chlorpyrifos, an organophosphorus compound, during pregnancy, causing fetal death.

KEY WORDS

Abortion, chlorpyrifos, organophosphates, poisoning, pregnancy.

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