Chlorfenapyr poisoning: mechanisms, clinical presentations, and treatment strategies

Chlorfenapyr is used to kill insects that are resistant to organophosphorus insecticides. Chlorfenapyr poisoning has a high mortality rate and is difficult to treat. This article aims to review the mechanisms, clinical presentations, and treatment strategies for chlorfenapyr poisoning.

We conducted a review of the literature using PubMed, Web of Science, and SpringerLink from their beginnings to the end of October 2023. The inclusion criteria were systematic reviews, clinical guidelines, retrospective studies, and case reports on chlorfenapyr poisoning that focused on its mechanisms, clinical presentations, and treatment strategies. The references in the included studies were also examined to identify additional sources.

We included 57 studies in this review. Chlorfenapyr can be degraded into tralopyril, which is more toxic and reduces energy production by inhibiting the conversion of adenosine diphosphate to adenosine triphosphate. High fever and altered mental status are characteristic clinical presentations of chlorfenapyr poisoning. Once it occurs, respiratory failure occurs immediately, ultimately leading to cardiac arrest and death. Chlorfenapyr poisoning is difficult to treat, and there is no specific antidote.

Chlorfenapyr is a new pyrrole pesticide. Although it has been identified as a moderately toxic pesticide by the World Health Organization (WHO), the mortality rate of poisoned patients is extremely high. There is no specific antidote for chlorfenapyr poisoning. Therefore, based on the literature review, future efforts to explore rapid and effective detoxification methods, reconstitute intracellular oxidative phosphorylation couplings, identify early biomarkers of chlorfenapyr poisoning, and block the conversion of chlorfenapyr to tralopyril may be helpful for emergency physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.