Importance of smoking and the occurrence of acute poisoning due to waterproof spray

Abstract

A search of the database Ichushi (Japana Centra Revuo Medicana), which collects summaries of Japanese medical articles, was undertaken to identify articles published between 1983 and 2013, using the key word "waterproof". There was one original article and 19 case reports describing acute poisoning due to inhalation of waterproof spray gas, and providing information about the patient's smoking habit. Twenty-three of the 25 cases (92% of male patients, 71% of female patients) had a smoking habit. The one female case who did not have a smoking habit was in an environment exposed to secondhand smoke, because her husband had smoking habit. All cases had respiratory symptoms, and 24 cases had lung edema confirmed by computed tomography. There were no fatal cases among these patients. The one original article reported that 93% of males and 49% of females among a total of 104 cases with acute poisoning due to inhalation of waterproof spray gas had a smoking habit. Accordingly, people with a smoking habit tend to be vulnerable to exposure to waterproof spray gas.

Waterproofing spray-associated pneumonitis review

“…The study identified some characteristics of WAP and compared them to those of AEP and summer-type HP. As in previous reports, patients with WAP had common clinical characteristics, such as dyspnea, cough, and fever, [ 5 ] a history of smoking, [ 1 ] and bilateral ground-glass opacities on CT scans. [ 1 ] The features characteristic of WAP were rapid disease progression and macrophage dominance in the BALF.…”

“…The inhalation of waterproofing spray containing fluororesin causes acute poisoning and lung injury, [ 1 – 3 ] which is referred to as waterproofing spray-associated pneumonitis (WAP) in this report. The Japan Poison Information Center reported that WAP occurs in approximately 68 people per year in Japan.…”

“…[ 3 ] WAP is associated with tobacco smoke exposure, including secondhand smoke, and WAP is characterized by lung edema on computed tomography (CT) scans. [ 1 ] However, those reports did not describe the detailed laboratory, radiographic, or histopathologic findings. Partly because the detailed characteristics are unknown, the diagnosis of WAP is usually based on the exclusion of other diseases with similar symptoms.…”

Waterproofing spray-associated pneumonitis: review of 29 cases and comparisons with acute eosinophilic pneumonia and hypersensitivity pneumonitis

“…The inhalation of waterproofing spray containing fluororesin causes acute poisoning and lung injury [1][2][3], which is referred to as waterproofing spray-associated pneumonitis (WAP) in this report. The Japan Poison Information Center reported that WAP occurs in approximately 68 people per year in Japan [4].…”

“…That study reported that 93% of the affected males and 71% of the females had a smoking habit and that the white blood cell count (WBC) and C-reactive protein (CRP) level were related to the inhaled maximum concentration of the waterproofing spray to which the subjects had been exposed [3]. A review of twenty-five cases indicated that WAP is associated with tobacco smoke exposure, including secondhand smoke, and is characterized by lung edema on computed tomography (CT) scans [1]. However, those reports did not describe the detailed laboratory, radiographic, or histopathologic findings.…”