Contact urticaria and airway obstruction from carbonless copy paper
J. G. Marks Jr, J. J. Trautlein, C. W. Zwillich and L. M. Demers
A 27-year-old woman experienced pruritus, eye and throat irritation,
hoarseness, shortness of breath, and fatigue within half and hour of
exposure to carbonless copy paper. On two separate occasions, she was
purposely challenged in a controlled-blinded fashion with portions of the
carbonless copy paper. This resulted on both occasions in contact urticaria
of the hand that held the paper and changes in pulmonary function
flow-volume loops characteristic of upper airway obstruction. To determine
if alterations in prostaglandin (PG) metabolism might explain these
findings, plasma PGF2 alpha and thromboxane B2 (both capable of causing
these symptoms) were measured before and during the second exposure period.
Both PGF2 alpha and thromboxane B2 increased substantially. We conclude
that the cutaneous and respiratory symptoms induced by carbonless copy
paper were probably related to PG release.
