Characteristics and Outcomes in Acute Propanil Poisoning: a Scoping Review Protocol

Background: Propanil is a widely used weedicide for rice cultivation in Sri Lanka and other paddy-cultivating countries. Agrochemical ingestion as a mode of deliberate self-harm commonly occurs in farming communities. Acute propanil poisoning (APP) is frequent due to its availability and lethality. The clinical presentation of APP may vary, and there are many treatment modalities for the cases of propanil poisoning. The available literature on characteristics and outcomes of propanil poisoning is limited to case reports, case series, and limited retrospective and cohort studies.

Methods: We will search for published and grey literature without a language restriction. MEDLINE (PubMed), CINAHL, and TRIP databases will be used to find studies on APP by browsing keywords. Studies that will not appear online but are published in key journals in Sri Lanka will also be included after searching in library archives. Identified sources relevant to the study will be retrieved in toto, and their citation details will be imported into the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) System for the Unified Management, Assessment, and Review of Information (JBI SUMARI) (JBI, Adelaide, Australia). The study results will be reported in full in the final scoping review and presented in a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses extension for scoping review (PRISMA-ScR) flow diagram.

Discussion: There are no specific clinical manifestations following APP. There may be several commonly shared clinical presentations in this context, but they are not described well. Biochemical evaluation of the propanil levels is costly and not readily available in most centres worldwide. There may be cheaper and more readily available tests that may help diagnose and assess the clinical severity of APP. Though methemoglobinemia is the most described complication following APP, this study aims to identify other complications. There are several treatment modalities for the management of propanil poisoning, and the outcomes of each treatment modality may vary. Therefore, this scoping review will be done on accessible and available literature to assess the characteristics and consequences of APP.