title: The effect of chemical warfare on respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function tests and their reversibility 23-25 years after exposure.
abstract: Pulmonary complications due to mustard gas exposure range from no effect to severe bronchial stenosis. Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and respiratory symptoms in chemical war victims were studied 23-25 years after exposure to sulfur mustard (SM). Respiratory symptoms were evaluated in a sample of 142 chemical war victims and 120 control subjects with similar age from the general population using a questionnaire including questions on respiratory symptoms in the past year. PFT values were also measured in chemical war victims before and 15 min after the inhalation of 200 µg salbutamol and baseline PFT in controls. All chemical war victims (100%) reported respiratory symptoms. Wheezing (66.19%), cough (64.78%), and chest tightness (54.4%) were the most common symptoms and only 15.5% of chemical war victims reported sputum (p < 0.01 for sputum and p < 0.001 for other symptoms compared with control group). In addition, 49.3% of chemical war victims had wheeze in chest examination, which were significantly higher than control group (p < 0.001). The severity of respiratory symptoms was also significantly higher than control subjects (p < 0.05 for sputum and p < 0.001 for other symptoms). All the PFT values were also significantly lower in chemical war victims than that in control subjects (p < 0.001 for all cases). In addition, all the PFT values improved significantly after the inhalation of 200 µg salbutamol (p < 0.05-p < 0.001). These results showed that chemical war victims, 23-25 years after exposure to chemical warfare have higher frequencies and severity of respiratory symptoms. PFT values were also significantly reduced among chemical war victims, which showed reversibility due to the inhalation of 200 µg salbutamol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: Mrteza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boskabady
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran Applied Physiology Recearch Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran boskabadymh@mums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Boskabady
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: Narges Amel
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Zabihi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran.
authors.forename: Marzie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boskabady
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000420:Albuterol / Q000494:pharmacology; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents / Q000506:poisoning*; D003371:Cough / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009151:Mustard Gas / Q000506:poisoning*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000187:drug effects*; D014857:Warfare
chemical_list: D001993:Bronchodilator Agents; D002619:Chemical Warfare Agents; D000420:Albuterol; D009151:Mustard Gas