Acute pneumonitis associated with nickel carbonyl exposure in the workplace

We describe the clinical course of one industrial technician occupationally exposed to nickel carbonyl (NiC).

A 50-year-old male industrial technician presented with complaints of nausea, myalgia, and cough to a local clinic after suspected occupational exposure to nickel carbonyl. He has no history of lung disease or smoking. His initial urine nickel concentration was 692 ug/L. He had infiltrates on the initial chest X-ray (CXR) and an oxygen saturation (O₂) of 97% on room air. The patient was started on disulfiram 1 g by mouth (PO), 500 mg six hours after the first dose, then 250 mg twice daily for five days with prednisone 60 mg by mouth for five days. He presented 48 hours later with worsening respiratory symptoms. His O₂ saturation decreased to 85% despite two days of oral steroids, and he was admitted to a hospital. He received prednisone 60 mg/day PO, 4 L nasal O₂, and disulfiram 500 mg twice daily. He was discharged on day 7 post-exposure with disulfiram and prednisone. Case discussions: NiC is a severe respiratory irritant. Disulfiram was used off-label and was based on an established company protocol.

Inhalation exposure to NiC resulted in a delayed respiratory dysfunction which responded to disulfiram treatment.