Background: Aluminium phosphide (AlP) is a pesticide used to preserve grains from rodents and household bugs. It’s one of the most common causes of poisoning in developing countries as it’s cheap, easy to use, and instantly fatal. Aim of the study: Assessment of the magnitude of acute AlP poisoning, characters of prevalent cases, and the general outcome of poisoning in the Eastern Delta of Egypt over the last five years. Patient and Method: We surveyed all patient records of AlP-poisoned cases admitted to local poisoning centers; Poison Control Center-Zagazig University Hospitals (PCC-ZUH) and Zagazig General Hospital, from Jan. 2017 to Jan. 2022, we calculated poisoning incidence over the studied years and extracted patient demographic data and poisoning sequelae to create detailed statistical patterns, then we evaluated all available case data to relate them to the patient outcome. Results: AlP poisoning is an increasing public health problem with the most frequent age group being 18 to 45 years (66%). Females represented the majority (62.5%), and 79.3% of the cases were from rural areas. Most of the cases were suicidal (70.6%), and the overall mortality rate of AIP over the last 5 years was 72.5%. Conclusions and Recommendations: The rising incidence of AlP poisoning is a threatening public health problem that mandates the government intervention to enact restrictive legislation on the purchase and use of wheat pills and raise public awareness through community education programs or campaigns.

Background/Objectives: Thiamethoxam (TMX) is one of the most extensively utilized insecticides of the neonicotinoid family; however, its application is associated with notable toxic effects on multiple organs of mammals. Our purpose was to explore the potential hepatoprotective effect of taurine (TAU) and/or gallic acid (GA) against TMX-induced liver damage, with an emphasis on their role in regulating SIRT-1/PGC-1α, NF-κB/iNOS, and p53/Bax/caspase-3 pathways. Methods: Rats were assigned to seven groups (n = 6) and gavaged daily for 28 days with saline (control group), TAU at 50 mg/kg, GA at 20 mg/kg, TMX at 78.15 mg/kg, TMX + TAU, TMX + GA, and TMX + TAU + GA. Results: The findings revealed that TAU and/or GA attenuated TMX-induced liver injury, as demonstrated by the restoration of hepatic performance hallmarks and histological structure. TAU and GA mitigated TMX-mediated oxidative stress and boosted the antioxidant defense mechanism by upregulating the transcription levels of SIRT-1, PGC-1α, Nrf2, and HO-1. Moreover, TAU and GA suppressed TMX-associated inflammatory response by increasing IL-10 concentration and lowering the levels of NF-κB, IL-1β, and iNOS; the mRNA levels of NLRP3; and TNF-α immunoexpression. Both compounds, individually or concurrently, exerted an anti-apoptotic effect in TMX-treated rats, evidenced by increased Bcl-2 expression and reduced p53 mRNA level, Bax expression, and caspase-3 concentration. Conclusions: TAU and/or GA may be regarded as promising remedies that can alleviate TMX-induced hepatotoxicity by activating SIRT-1/PGC-1α signaling and abolishing inflammation and apoptosis.

Background: Poisoning from antidepressants and antipsychotics can lead to potentially life-threatening cardiotoxicity, which cardiac biomarkers can confirm. Aim of the work: This study aims to determine, for the first time, the value of sST2 in the early prediction of cardiotoxicity, alongside other cardiac injury biomarkers (BNP and cTnI), in cases of acute poisoning with antipsychotics and antidepressants. Patients and methods: This is a prospective cohort study involving selected cases of acute antidepressant and antipsychotic poisoning presented to Zagazig University Hospitals (ZUH) between June 2023 and December 2023. A detailed history was collected, and all cases underwent thorough clinical assessments, electrocardiography, routine investigations, and specific cardiac biomarkers, and received appropriate management tailored to each case. Results: Forty cases were enrolled, mostly aged between 18 and 40 years; the majority were females, suicidal, from urban areas, unmarried, students, with moderate poisoning severity, and primarily antipsychotic ingestion. Cardiotoxicity was diagnosed in about two-thirds of the cases, with one reported death. Dose, sinus tachycardia, poisoning severity score, extrapyramidal, and anticholinergic manifestations were significantly higher, while time since exposure and the Glasgow Coma scale were significantly lower, in the cardiotoxicity group. BNP level was the only cardiac biomarker significantly correlated with cardiotoxicity (p=0.03), with an AUC of 0.72 at 95% CI. Conclusion: BNP outperforms other cardiac biomarkers in the early prediction of cardiotoxicity during overdose of antidepressants and/or antipsychotics.