Source: Annual Congress 2002 - Exposure to chemicals
Disease area: Airway diseases

Abstract

The persistence of airway reactivity after acute exposue to respiratory irritants has been termed reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS). In our country, a mixture of sodium hypochlorite and hydrochloric acid has been widely used by housewives for indoor cleaning. In this study, we enrolled 55 symptomatic housewives referred to our department due to high-level inhalaton of a mixture of sodium hypochlorite and hydrochloric acid between 1996 - 2001 years. All of the patients had the defined criteria for the diagnosis of RADS, expect the histopathologic study. All patients were female. Mean age was 34 ±] 12 yr. None had a preceding respiratory disease or atopy. Most frequent symptoms were dyspnea, cough, wheezing, chest tightness and headache with respectively. Only 19 of 55 patients (35%) showed an improvement in FEV1 of 20% or greater after inhalation of salbutamol. Both systemic corticosteroids and inhalation bronchodilators were mostly given in first. Forty eight patients were quickly improved. Seven patients were deteriorated. Two of 7 developed ARDS and mechanical ventilatory support had to be started. One of them died. We concluded that RADS was a distinct entity and it should be considered following exposure to high concentrations of toxic irritants. This study included the largest series of housewives with RADS following exposure to a mixture of sodium hypochlorite and hydrochloric acid, to our knowledge. Presently, 32 patients have been followed by us with regular inhalation corticosteroid therapy, and the long-term outcomes of this study will also be presented in the future.

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M. Gorguner, S. Aslan, S. Yilmaz, Z. Cakir (Erzurum, Turkey). A case series of 55 housewives with reactive airways dysfunction syndrome following exposure to a mixture of sodium hypochlorite and hydrochloric acid. Eur Respir J 2002; 20: Suppl. 38, 855

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