Morbidity Following Acute Irritant Inhalation in a Population-Based Study

Study Objective.— To estimate the incidence of and risk factors for morbidity due to inhalation of respiratory irritants.

Design.— Six-month case series of inhalational exposures reported to a poison control center with follow-up, structured interviews of subjects.

Setting.— A regional poison control center providing 24-hour telephone consultation to health professionals and the public.

Patients.— Consecutive sample of 683 inhalation cases, with interviews of 323 subjects.

Measurements and Main Results.— Moderate to severe irritants accounted for 160 (50%) of the inhalational exposures in interviewed subjects. Persistent symptoms lasting 14 days or longer were reported by only 20 (6%) of the subjects. Irritant exposure was a statistically significant risk factor for acute respiratory symptoms (relative risk [RR] = 1.7; 95% confidence interval [Cl], 1.4 to 2.1) but was unrelated to persistent symptoms. Preexisting lung conditions (RR = 2.4; 95% Cl, 1.4 to 4.2) and cigarette smoking (RR = 1.7; 95% CI, 1.3 to 2.2) were both statistically significant risk factors for persistent symptoms.

Conclusions.— Symptomatic inhalational exposures due to irritants are frequent in reports from poison control centers. Residual morbidity was uncommon and did not appear to be statistically related to the degree of irritant exposure. Host-related factors may be better predictors of ongoing morbidity after inhalational exposure.

(JAMA. 1991;266:664-669)