Toxic smoke compounds and inhalation injury--a review

Although the role of inhalation injury in contributing to the mortality of burn patients has received increasing attention, the available information on the toxic and injurious effects of smoke generated from uncontrolled fires is scarce. This is because each fire generates its own variety of smoke, depending on the nature of the combusting materials and the burning conditions. This review summarizes the actions of the primary smoke components, heat, particulate materials, asphyxiants (carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide), and pulmonary irritants, without covering the whole field of smoke toxicity. In addition, emergency measures to counteract carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide poisoning are discussed.