Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1998 Jul;36(7):406-7.

Zinc phosphide intoxication symptoms: analysis of 20 cases

S N Chugh  1 , H K Aggarwal, S K Mahajan
Affiliations
  • PMID: 9707358

Zinc phosphide intoxication symptoms: analysis of 20 cases

S N Chugh et al. Int J Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1998 Jul.

Abstract

Twenty cases of zinc phosphide (Zn3P2) ingestion (self-poisoning) were seen during the last 5 years (January 1992-December 1996). Poisoning was rare before 1986. Profuse vomiting (100%), pain in abdomen (100%), palpitation and sweating (80%), dyspnea and tachypnea (75%), metabolic acidosis (60%), shock (40%), and hypotension (40%) were the most common presenting features. Five patients (25%) died. The toxic effects were due to liberation of toxic phosphine (PH3) gas which was detected by qualitative silver nitrate paper test in majority of cases.

PubMed Disclaimer