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Death due to asthma at workplace in a diphenylmethane diisocyanate-sensitized subject
M Carino1, M Aliani, C Licitra
1Division of Occupational Medicine, Clinica del Lavoro-Pavia Foundation, Cassano Medical Center, Italy.
Abstract:
Total cases of fatal asthma in the occupational setting reported in the literature are reviewed and the case of a 39-year-old foundry worker who died at work is described. A diagnosis of occupational asthma induced by diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) had been assessed 5 years in advance through a 0.005-ppm exposure inhalation challenge. Postmortem microscopic examination of the lung showed epithelial desquamation, eosinophilic/neutrophilic infiltration of the mucosa, dilatation of bronchial vessels, edema, hypertrophy and disarray of smooth muscle. Fatal asthma attack in a MDI-sensitized individual, to our knowledge, has not been previously described.