In this 13-year study, 51 patients were admitted with the primary diagnosis of "smoke poisoning" "carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning" or "respiratory burns." Forty patients (78%) had diagnosis of smoke poisoning with minor or no skin burns. The study indicated that clinical diagnosis of CO poisoning cannot be made reliably without carboxyhemoglobin (COHg) determination and that smoke poisoning patients often had CO poisoning. Seventeen of 19 smoke poisoning patients (89%) had CO poisoning above COHb levels of 15% saturation. Carbon monoxide was successfully removed from the blood by improving alveolar ventilation and oxygen concentration. However, there were 2 smoke poisoning deaths as the result of gaseous chemical injury. There was a correlation coefficient of 0.87 between initial COHg levels and patients' hospital days primarily determined by patients' pulmonary complications. Since CO is non-irritating, COHb levels may be used as an additional indicator of suspected pulmonary injury by noxious combustion gases. (+info)
Respiratory illness in agricultural workers.
(2/33)
Respiratory diseases have long been recognized in association with work in farming. Overall, only a small proportion of the population is employed in agriculture, so respiratory disease in farmers is not a major public health issue. However, farmers are known to have high morbidity and mortality from certain respiratory diseases, as shown by routinely collected statistics. Despite this, knowledge of the frequency, nature and risk factors for some respiratory disorders in agricultural workers is incomplete. Multiple exposures are common and some exposures can give rise to more than one specific disease. Moreover, the most common respiratory symptoms reported by farm workers (wheeze, dyspnoea and cough) are relatively non-specific and can be associated with several occupational respiratory disorders. This review describes the main occupational respiratory illnesses in farming and summarizes the current literature about epidemiology and prevention. The most important diseases are rhinitis and asthma, which, although common, are not usually fatal. Some non-allergic conditions, e.g. asthma-like syndrome and organic toxic dust syndrome, are not yet fully understood, but appear to be common among farm workers. The most serious respiratory diseases are hypersensitivity pneumonitis and respiratory infections, but these are rare. Most importantly, respiratory diseases are preventable by controlling harmful exposures to organic dust, toxic gases and chemicals on farms through improvements in animal rearing techniques, ventilation of animal accommodation, careful drying and storage of animal feed-stuffs, crops and other products, and use of personal protective equipment. (+info)
Medical aspects of chemical warfare.
(3/33)
The first-aid treatment of mass casualties from nerve gas relies mainly upon the use of drugs, and provision for their self-injection is recommended. Means for giving artificial respiration must also be provided, even though its large-scale use is regarded as impracticable. Prophylactic oxime (2 g. PAM chloride orally) is recommended if the situation permits. Some nerve gases are extremely rapid in action, and following exposure (or suspicion of exposure) 4 mg. of atropine and 2 g. of PAM chloride should be injected intramuscularly without delay. Preferably, atropine should be given intravenously. At the same time any clothing contaminated with liquid nerve gas should be removed and the skin cleansed thoroughly with a suitable fluid. Following this, the casualty should be watched closely for one hour. If poisoning develops despite these measures, or is already established, injection of atropine should be continued at short intervals until improvement occurs. (+info)
METHYL BROMIDE POISONING; A BIZARRE NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER.
(4/33)
Methyl bromide, a widely used fumigant, may cause burns of the skin, fatalities accompanied by coma and convulsions, or prolonged neurologic and psychiatric symptoms. Burns are more likely to occur where evaporation is prevented under protective clothing. Symptoms of serious illness may not develop for hours after exposure. Since action appears to be one of methylation, especially of SH groups, B.A.L. may be helpful if used promptly. (+info)
Chronic bronchiolitis in a 5-yr-old child after exposure to sulphur mustard gas.
(5/33)
Exposure to sulphur mustard (SM) gas may have extensive immediate effects on the respiratory system. However, long-term effects are far less known. This case report describes a Kurdish male child who was exposed to SM gas during a chemical attack in Iraq at 5 yrs of age. In the acute phase, the child developed severe respiratory symptoms with a chemical pneumonia. Extensive burning of the skin occurred. In the course of 10 yrs, lung function deteriorated progressively to a forced expiratory volume in one second of 30% of predicted value. Severe air-trapping occurred. The lung function abnormalities were not reversed by treatment with corticosteroids or bronchodilators. Infectious exacerbations of the child's lung disease occurred. High resolution computed tomography scan showed multiple bronchiectasis. The histological picture of an open lung biopsy was best described as a "chronic bronchiolitis". (+info)
The wartime work of Hinshelwood and his colleagues.
(6/33)
C.N. Hinshelwood and his physical and inorganic chemical colleagues in Oxford worked throughout World War II on the improvement of charcoal for use in respirators and on other physicochemical problems. The surviving reports and correspondence give a detailed picture of what they accomplished and on the way in which extramural research contracts were then handled. (+info)
The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: a review.
(7/33)
On December 3 1984, more than 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, immediately killing at least 3,800 people and causing significant morbidity and premature death for many thousands more. The company involved in what became the worst industrial accident in history immediately tried to dissociate itself from legal responsibility. Eventually it reached a settlement with the Indian Government through mediation of that country's Supreme Court and accepted moral responsibility. It paid $470 million in compensation, a relatively small amount of based on significant underestimations of the long-term health consequences of exposure and the number of people exposed. The disaster indicated a need for enforceable international standards for environmental safety, preventative strategies to avoid similar accidents and industrial disaster preparedness. Since the disaster, India has experienced rapid industrialization. While some positive changes in government policy and behavior of a few industries have taken place, major threats to the environment from rapid and poorly regulated industrial growth remain. Widespread environmental degradation with significant adverse human health consequences continues to occur throughout India. (+info)
Arsine toxicity aboard the Asiafreighter.
(8/33)
Eight sailors on board the Asiafreighter were exposed to arsine that had escaped from a cylinder in the cargo hold. Four suffered severe toxicity and within a few hours had developed fever, weakness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and haemoglobinuria. These patients had pronounced intravascular haemolysis, which in one patient was complete. This patient was also stuporose and anoxic, a condition attributed to failure of oxygen transport and sludging of red cell debris in the cerebral and pulmonary circulations, but he regained a normal level of consciousness after exchange transfusion. Evidence of marrow depression was present: the reticulocyte response to the haemolysis was poor and there was a thrombocytopenia. All four patients developed renal failure, one being totally anuric for five weeks. Two patients developed peripheral neuropathy, and one was still severely disabled six months after the incident. The other four patients had a similar, though less severe, illness. (+info)