OBJECTIVETo observe the clinical characteristics and regular patterns of subacute 1, 2-dichloroethane poisoning patients for providing evidences to it's diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.

METHODS51 cases of subacute 1, 2-dichloroethane poisoning analyzed. They were divided into 3 groups according to their main clinical manifestation: group A mainly with intracranial hypertension (n = 25), group B with limbs tremor (n = 18), group C with mental and behavior disorder (n = 8). All cases' clinical symptoms, cranial computer tomography, cerebrospinal pressure (Group A) were observed, the durations of the onset, deterioration, improvement, recovery and whole course of the disease were compared between groups and in each group.

RESULTSIn all of 51 cases, only the differences between the deterioration duration of cranial CT and symptom was significantly (t = 2.555, P<0.05), which indicate the deterioration of symptom was earlier than radiological change. The symptom deterioration of group C was the fastest than group A and group B (P<0.00). As to the change of symptom duration, group B's improvement, recovery and whole course was the longest comparing with group A and group C (P<0.05). As to the change of cranial CT duration, group B's recovery duration was the shortest and group A's recovery duration was the longest (P<0.01); group B's whole course was also the shortest and group A's whole course was the longest (P<0.05). The clinical course of symptoms, cranial computer tomography, cerebrospinal pressure (Group A) was compared in each group, in group A, the duration of improvement and whole course of the cranial CT and cerebrospinal pressure change was longer than that of the symptom change (P<0.01), this indicated that group A has longer asymptomatic intracranial hypertension and their cranial radiography recover slowly. In group B, their symptoms (3.94 ± 4.31 days) deteriorated is earlier than cranial CT changes (P<0.05), the recovery (92.39 ± 55.04 days) and whole course of symptom was longer than cranial CT change (all P<0.01). In group C, symptom deterioration was earlier than CT deterioration (P< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe clinical characteristic of subacute 1, 2- dichloroethane poisoning is central nervous system damage, it differs according to the different stage of course, the regions and severity of pathology lesions.