Severe Pulmonary Edema due to Nitric Acid Fume Inhalation at Home

Silvia Quadrelli^1, , Marco Antonio Solis Aramayo¹, Marcos Hernandez¹ and Manuel Ibarrola¹

¹Respiratory Medicine Department, Sanatorio Güemes, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cite this paper

Silvia Quadrelli, Marco Antonio Solis Aramayo, Marcos Hernandez and Manuel Ibarrola. Severe Pulmonary Edema due to Nitric Acid Fume Inhalation at Home. American Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2016; 4(9):312-314. doi: 10.12691/AJMCR-4-9-5

Abstract

A 65 year-old man presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with dyspnoea at rest, peripheral cyanosis, general paleness and a frothy fluid escaping from the nose and mouth. He also showed severe burns in his hands. He had been trying to clean a copper lamp with a 50–70% nitric acid solution at home. He was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU). Non-invasive mechanical ventilation with PEEP was immediately applied. Treatment was started with 60 mg of furosemide intravenously (IV), and prednisolone 250 mg IV four times daily. As he responded, he was weaned off non-invasive ventilation and administered high-flow oxygen via a facemask (10 L/min). At day 5, he was transferred to the general ward. The patient was discharged from hospital at day 10 without serious pulmonary complications. He was followed-up as an outpatient for three months and respiratory function tests did not show any impairment.

Keywords

nitric acid, pulmonary edema, inhalation

Copyright

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