Morbidity following acute irritant inhalation in a population-based study

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Toxicology
• Pulmonary Medicine

Background:

• Inhalational exposures to respiratory irritants are frequently reported.
• Understanding the incidence and risk factors for associated morbidity is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the incidence of and identify risk factors for morbidity resulting from inhalation of respiratory irritants.

Main Methods:

• A six-month case series design involving inhalational exposures reported to a poison control center.
• Structured interviews were conducted with 323 subjects from a consecutive sample of 683 inhalation cases.
• Data analysis included calculating relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Main Results:

• Moderate to severe irritants comprised 50% of exposures in interviewed subjects.
• Only 6% of subjects reported persistent symptoms (≥14 days).
• Irritant exposure was a risk factor for acute symptoms (RR=1.7), but not persistent symptoms. Preexisting lung conditions (RR=2.4) and smoking (RR=1.7) were significant risk factors for persistent symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Symptomatic inhalational irritant exposures are frequent in poison control center reports.
• Residual morbidity was uncommon and not statistically linked to irritant exposure degree.
• Host factors, such as pre-existing lung conditions and smoking, appear to be better predictors of persistent morbidity.