Lin GD, Wu JY, Peng XB, Lu XX, Liu ZY, Pan ZG, Qiu ZW, Dong JG. Chlorine poisoning caused by improper mixing of household disinfectants during the COVID-19 pandemic: Case series. World J Clin Cases 2022; 10(25): 8872-8879 [PMID: 36157658 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i25.8872]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jian-Guang Dong, PhD, Senior Department of Hematology, The Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, No. 8 East Street, Fengtai District, Beijing 100071, China. 347800520@qq.com
Research Domain of This Article
Emergency Medicine
Article-Type of This Article
Observational Study
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Lin GD, Wu JY, Peng XB, Lu XX, Liu ZY, Pan ZG, Qiu ZW, Dong JG. Chlorine poisoning caused by improper mixing of household disinfectants during the COVID-19 pandemic: Case series. World J Clin Cases 2022; 10(25): 8872-8879 [PMID: 36157658 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i25.8872]
Guo-Dong Lin, Jie-Yi Wu, Zhi-Guo Pan, Department of Critical Care Medicine, General Hospital of Southern Theater Command of PLA, Guangzhou 510010, Guangdong Province, China
Guo-Dong Lin, Xiao-Bo Peng, Xiao-Xia Lu, Zhong-Ying Liu, Ze-Wu Qiu, Jian-Guang Dong, Senior Department of Hematology, The Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100071, China
Author contributions: Lin GD, Pan ZG, Qiu ZW, and Dong JG conceived the study, designed the trial, and obtained research funding; Peng XB, Lu XX, and Liu ZY supervised data collection and managed the data, including quality control; Qiu ZW and Dong JG provided statistical advice on study design and analyzed the data; Lin GD and Wu JY drafted the manuscript, and all authors contributed substantially to its revision; Pan ZG, Qiu ZW, and Dong JG take responsibility for the paper as a whole.
Supported bythe National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81873116.
Institutional review board statement: The retrospective study design was approved by the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital Institutional review board.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Corresponding author: Jian-Guang Dong, PhD, Senior Department of Hematology, The Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, No. 8 East Street, Fengtai District, Beijing 100071, China. 347800520@qq.com
Received: February 18, 2022 Peer-review started: February 18, 2022 First decision: June 15, 2022 Revised: June 24, 2022 Accepted: July 20, 2022 Article in press: July 20, 2022 Published online: September 6, 2022 Processing time: 188 Days and 22.7 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
The use of household disinfectants increased significantly during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. But there are a few clinical case reports on acute chlorine inhalation poisoning caused by improper mixing of household disinfectants and toilet cleaning solutions.
Research motivation
We summarized the clinical data of patients admitted to our center during the COVID-19 pandemic with acute chlorine inhalation poisoning caused by improper mixing of disinfectants and toilet cleaning solutions to help improve a clinician's ability to treat future cases.
Research objectives
To help improve a clinician's ability. Seven patients with acute chlorine inhalation poisoning caused by improper mixing of disinfectants and toilet cleaning solutions admitted to the National Army Poisoning Treatment Center from March 2020 to September 2021.
Research methods
Retrospective descriptive analysis was performed on the clinical data of all patients.
Research results
Post poisoning, patients may present with symptoms of breathlessness, dyspnea, headache, nausea, cough, pharyngeal discomfort, fatigue, nausea, and depression. Out of seven patients, one had type 1 respiratory failure, and five had bilateral lung effusions or inflammatory changes on chest computed tomography. Six patients received humidified oxygen therapy, and one was treated with non-invasive mechanical ventilation. All patients were treated with glucocorticoids.
Research conclusions
Improper mixing of house disinfectants causes damage to the respiratory system due to chlorine poisoning. Corticosteroids may improve lung exudation, and early symptomatic supportive treatment should be performed.
Research perspectives
More case studies are required for improved generalizability and understanding of the clinical characteristics and treatment of chlorine poisoning caused by disinfectant mixing.
