Base excess in predicting the prognosis of patients with paraquat poisoning: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Background:Although the prognostic significance of base excess (BE) in patients with paraquat (PQ) poisoning has been investigated for several years, the results remain controversial. Thus, we performed for the first time a comprehensive meta-analysis to explore the value of BE in predicting the prognosis of patients with PQ poisoning.Methods:We searched PubMed, EMBase, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure to identify all relevant papers that were published up to August 2018. The data were extracted for pooled analysis, heterogeneity testing, sensitivity analysis, publication bias analysis, and subgroup analysis.Results:Pooled analysis revealed that a decreased BE is correlated with poor mortality (pooled OR=21.358, 95% CI: 12.716-35.873, P