eMedicine Specialties > Emergency Medicine > Warfare - Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives

CBRNE - Lung-Damaging Agents, Chlorine: Multimedia

Author: Daniel Noltkamper, MD, FACEP, EMS Medical Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Naval Hospital of Camp Lejeune
Coauthor(s): Gerald F O'Malley, DO, Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital; Director of Research, Director, Division of Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein Medical Center
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jul 3, 2008

Multimedia

Chest radiograph of a 36-year-old chemical worker...
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Media file 1: Chest radiograph of a 36-year-old chemical worker 2 hours postexposure to chlorine inhalant. She had severe resting dyspnea during the second hour, diffuse crackles/rhonchi on auscultation, and a partial pressure of oxygen of 32 mm Hg breathing room air. The radiograph shows diffuse pulmonary edema without significant cardiomegaly (used with permission from Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare, Textbook of Military Medicine. 1997: 256).
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Chest radiograph of a 36-year-old chemical worker...

Chest radiograph of a 36-year-old chemical worker 2 hours postexposure to chlorine inhalant. She had severe resting dyspnea during the second hour, diffuse crackles/rhonchi on auscultation, and a partial pressure of oxygen of 32 mm Hg breathing room air. The radiograph shows diffuse pulmonary edema without significant cardiomegaly (used with permission from Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare, Textbook of Military Medicine. 1997: 256).

A section from a lung biopsy (hematoxylin and eos...
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Media file 2: A section from a lung biopsy (hematoxylin and eosin stain; original magnification X 100) from a 36-year-old chemical worker taken 6 weeks postexposure to chlorine. At that time, the patient had no clinical abnormalities and a partial pressure of oxygen of 80 mm Hg breathing room air. The section shows normal lung tissues without evidence of interstitial fibrosis and/or inflammation (used with permission from Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare, Textbook of Military Medicine. 1997: 256).
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A section from a lung biopsy (hematoxylin and eos...

A section from a lung biopsy (hematoxylin and eosin stain; original magnification X 100) from a 36-year-old chemical worker taken 6 weeks postexposure to chlorine. At that time, the patient had no clinical abnormalities and a partial pressure of oxygen of 80 mm Hg breathing room air. The section shows normal lung tissues without evidence of interstitial fibrosis and/or inflammation (used with permission from Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare, Textbook of Military Medicine. 1997: 256).

Chemical Terrorism Agents and Syndromes. Signs an...
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Media file 3: Chemical Terrorism Agents and Syndromes. Signs and symptoms. Chart courtesy of North Carolina Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE), copyright University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Chemical Terrorism Agents and Syndromes. Signs an...

Chemical Terrorism Agents and Syndromes. Signs and symptoms. Chart courtesy of North Carolina Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE), copyright University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

More on CBRNE - Lung-Damaging Agents, Chlorine

Overview: CBRNE - Lung-Damaging Agents, Chlorine
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: CBRNE - Lung-Damaging Agents, Chlorine
Treatment & Medication: CBRNE - Lung-Damaging Agents, Chlorine
Follow-up: CBRNE - Lung-Damaging Agents, Chlorine
Multimedia: CBRNE - Lung-Damaging Agents, Chlorine
References
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References

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  3. Beckett WS. Inorganic gases. In: Textbook of Clinical Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 1994:838-843.

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  17. Segal E, Lang E. Toxicity, Chlorine Gas. eMedicine Journal [serial online]. 2000. [Full Text].

  18. Smart JK. History of chemical and biologic warfare: An American perspective. In: Textbook of Military Medicine: Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biologic Warfare. 1997:9-86.

  19. Traub SJ. Respiratory agent attack (toxic inhalational injury). In: Ciottone GR. Disaster Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Mosby Elsevier; 2006:573-575/ chap 93.

  20. Urbanetti JS. Toxic inhalational injuries. In: Textbook of Military Medicine: Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biologic Warfare. 1997:247-270.

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Further Reading

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Keywords

chemical warfare agent, mucous membrane irritant, respiratory tract irritant, noncardiogenic pulmonary edema, ICD-9-CM 983-9 corrosive aromatics, International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification 983-9 corrosive aromatics, lung-damaging agents, lung damaging agents chlorine, chlorine, chlorine gas, chlorine liquid, chlorine toxicity

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Daniel Noltkamper, MD, FACEP, EMS Medical Director, Department of Emergency Medicine, Naval Hospital of Camp Lejeune
Daniel Noltkamper, MD, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Gerald F O'Malley, DO, Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital; Director of Research, Director, Division of Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein Medical Center
Gerald F O'Malley, DO is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Medical Toxicology, American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, American Osteopathic Association, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Mark Keim, MD, Senior Science Advisor, Office of the Director, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Mark Keim, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Rick Kulkarni, MD, Medical Director, Assistant Professor of Surgery, Section of Emergency Medicine, Yale-New Haven Hospital
Rick Kulkarni, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Emergency Medicine, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: WebMD Salary Employment

CME Editor

John D Halamka, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; Chief Information Officer, CareGroup Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School; Attending Physician, Division of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
John D Halamka, MD, MS is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Informatics Association, Phi Beta Kappa, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Robert G Darling, MD, FACEP, Clinical Assistant Professor of Military and Emergency Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F Edward Hebert School of Medicine; Associate Director, Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine
Robert G Darling, MD, FACEP is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Emergency Physicians, American Medical Association, and Association of Military Surgeons of the US
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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