title: Pulmonary function test findings in patients with acute inhalation injury caused by smoke bombs.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to determine the effects of smoke bomb-induced acute inhalation injury on pulmonary function at different stages of lung injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in 15 patients with acute inhalation injury from days 3 to 180 after smoke inhalation. We measured the trace element zinc in whole blood on days 4 and 17, and correlations of zinc levels with PFTs were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the acute stage of lung injury (day 3), 3 of 11 patients with mild symptoms had normal pulmonary function and 8 patients with restrictive ventilatory dysfunction and reduced diffusing capacity. Some patients also had mild obstructive ventilatory dysfunction (5 patients) and a decline in small airway function (6 patients). For patients with severe symptoms, PFT results showed moderate to severe restrictive ventilatory dysfunction and reduced diffusing capacity. PaCO2was significantly higher (P=0.047) in patients with reduced small airway function compared with those with normal small airway function. Whole blood zinc levels in the convalescence stage (day 17) were significantly lower than those in the acute stage (day 4). Zinc in the acute stage was negatively correlated with DLCO/VAon days 3, 10, and 46 (r=-0.633, -0.676, and -0.675 respectively, P<0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Smoke inhalation injury mainly causes restrictive ventilatory dysfunction and reduced diffusing capacity, and causes mild obstructive ventilatory dysfunction and small airway function decline in some patients. Zinc is negatively correlated with DLCO/VA. Zinc levels may be able to predict prognosis and indicate the degree of lung injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Xin-Gang
authors.initials: XG
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Guo
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology, Affiliated Hospital of Military Medical Science Academy of the PLA, Beijing 100071, China.
authors.forename: Han-Bin
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Bing
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Da-Hui
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Fang
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Li-Xin
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Xie
keywords: Zinc chloride; pulmonary function test; smoke inhalation injury