Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Clinical management of casualties exposed to lung damaging agents: a critical review

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Peter Blain

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.


Abstract

There is no specific antidote for the treatment of casualties exposed to chlorine, phosgene, or mustards; therefore, management is largely supportive. Corticosteroid treatment has been given to casualties accidentally exposed to chlorine. Clinical data on efficacy are inconclusive as the numbers given steroids have been small and the indications for administration unclear. There have been no clinical controlled studies. There is a stronger evidence base from animal studies, particularly from porcine and rodent models. Lung injury induced by phosgene and mustard appears to be mediated by glutathione depletion, lipid peroxidation, free radical generation, and subsequent cellular toxicity. There is limited evidence to suggest that repletion of glutathione reduces and/or prevents lung damage by these agents. This may provide an opportunity for therapeutic intervention.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Russell D, Blaine PG, Rice P

Publication type: Review

Publication status: Published

Journal: Emergency Medicine Journal

Year: 2006

Volume: 23

Issue: 6

Pages: 421-424

ISSN (print): 1472-0205

ISSN (electronic): 1472-0213

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/emj.2003.011775

DOI: 10.1136/emj.2003.011775


Share