Vesicants - 18/08/11

Doi : 10.1016/j.ccc.2005.06.005

John McManus, MD, MCR, FACEP ^a,^⁎ , Kermit Huebner, MD ^b
^a US Army Institute of Surgical Research, 3400 Rawley E. Chambers Avenue, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6315, USA
^b US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1425 Porter Street, Fort Detrick, MD 21702, USA

^⁎Corresponding author

Resumen

Vesicants (or blister agents) are cytotoxic alkylating compounds, which are chemical agents sometimes collectively known as mustard gas or simply as mustard. Other blister agents are nitrogen mustard; sulfur mustard; lewisite, a vesicant that contains arsenic; and phosgene oxime, a halogenated oxime that possesses different properties and toxicity from the other agents. This article discusses history, toxicity, clinical presentation, and common treatment for vesicants.

El texto completo de este artículo está disponible en PDF.

Esquema

Mechanism of toxicity

Proposed use as a weapon

Method of exposure

Biochemical, cellular, and systemic effects

Clinical presentation

Differential diagnosis

Casualty and injury distribution

Management and evaluation

Clinical course and prognostic factors

Summary

The opinions or assertions expressed herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the US Department of the Army or the US Department of Defense.
The pulmonary aspects of blistering agents overlap the material on irritant gases in the respiratory agents article. We have kept these articles and inclusive topics as separate discussions with unique and complementary features.