Emergency department external decontamination for hazardous chemical exposure

Although external decontamination is an integral aspect of the emergency management of hazardous chemicals exposure, no standard protocol or report of human experience is available. We performed a retrospective review of all patients decontaminated in our emergency department over a 6-y period for hazardous chemicals exposure. Patients were treated by a universal substances protocol in a specially designed decontamination area. Ocular irrigation utilizing 1500 ml of normal saline po was employed in 27 patients. Oral mucosal irrigation utilizing 1500 ml water was employed in 2 patients. All 72 patients received skin and hair decontamination. Skin was washed 3 times with detergent and cornmeal mixture, and water irrigation or shower for 3 min. Hair was shampooed 3 times with mild soap for 3 min. A subset of patients (n = 31) received pre-decontamination and post-decontamination skin swabbing. Swabs were analyzed by a certified analytical chemistry laboratory utilizing gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Positive pre-decontamination swabs were seen for pesticides and PCBs. All post-decontamination swab analyses were negative, indicating that the method utilized was effective.