Probable progress in the therapy of organophosphate poisoning: extracorporeal hemodialysis and hemoperfusion.

Whether or not extracorporeal hemodialysis or hemoperfusion with coated activated charcoal might be used in eliminating organophosphates following poisoning with nitrostigmine, demeton-S-methyl sulfoxide, or dimethoate was here examined. Nitrostigmine could not be hemodialysed. The other two organophosphates, on the other hand could be well eliminated from the blood by hemodialysis. The clearance rates for demeton-S-methyl sulfoxide and dimethoate were 52.98 ml/min and 59.07 ml/min respectively, at a blood flow rate of 100 ml/min. The clearance values for hemoperfusion with coated activated charcoal were higher under the same trial conditions, the values being 83.70 ml/min for demeton-S-methyl sulfoxide and 87.84 ml/min for dimethoate. Nitrostigmine, too, could be eliminated from the blood by hemoperfusion, its clearance being 59.20 ml/min.