Antidote Timing in Organophosphate Poisoning: What a Clinical Measurement Can Determine
Title
Antidote Timing in Organophosphate Poisoning: What a Clinical Measurement Can Determine
Description
Organophosphate pesticides disable the enzyme a nerve needs to switch itself off. From that moment a race runs between two outcomes: the enzyme ages, after which nothing available brings it back, or an oxime antidote rescues it. Depending on the compound the race lasts from six minutes to nearly six days.
Self-poisoning with these compounds kills around 110,000 people a year, and antidote trials have not shown a survival benefit. This project asks what a blood test can tell a clinician about that race. It can show how fast the window is closing, and nothing about how much enzyme is left to save. Splitting the sample already drawn and dosing each half either side of the antidote’s binding constant recovers that second number in simulation.
Self-poisoning with these compounds kills around 110,000 people a year, and antidote trials have not shown a survival benefit. This project asks what a blood test can tell a clinician about that race. It can show how fast the window is closing, and nothing about how much enzyme is left to save. Splitting the sample already drawn and dosing each half either side of the antidote’s binding constant recovers that second number in simulation.
Creator
Aaron Yan Ming Tan
Files
Citation
Aaron Yan Ming Tan, “Antidote Timing in Organophosphate Poisoning: What a Clinical Measurement Can Determine,” URSS SHOWCASE, accessed October 13, 2026, https://linen-dog.lnx.warwick.ac.uk/items/show/1136.