title: Another hot tub hazard. Toxicity secondary to bromine and hydrobromic acid exposure.
abstract: We describe the clinical course of two patients who developed acute pneumonitis followed by reactive airways dysfunction syndrome after bathing in a hot tub. Additional findings were present and suggested that exposure to a corrosive agent was responsible. Bromine and hydrobromic acid generated from a widely used water disinfectant were implicated as the underlying cause. Physicians should be alert to the possibility that such exposures may initiate or exacerbate inflammatory pulmonary disease.
authors.affiliation: Section in Toxicology, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Burns
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Linden
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001494:Baths / Q000009:adverse effects; D001966:Bromine / Q000506:poisoning*; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000506:poisoning*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018054:Hydrobromic Acid / Q000506:poisoning*; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*
chemical_list: D004202:Disinfectants; D018054:Hydrobromic Acid; D001966:Bromine