Citation

Promisloff RA, Lenchner GS, Phan A, Cichelli AV. Chest 1990; 98(4): 928-929.

Affiliation

Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1990, American College of Chest Physicians)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2209150

Abstract

The reactive airway dysfunction syndrome (RADS) is a recently described syndrome in which bronchial hyperreactivity and asthmatic symptoms develop in previously healthy individuals after a single large exposure to an irritating gas, fume, or vapor. We report a cluster of three Philadelphia police officers who developed RADS after a common exposure to toxic fumes from a roadside truck accident. Results of initial pulmonary function testing were normal in all three, and methacholine challenge was required for diagnosis in two out of the three. This syndrome needs to be recognized by physicians dealing with environmental or industrial medicine as a potential cause of loss of work or inability to perform on the job. Also, there is a potential for multiple individuals to develop this syndrome from a single incident.

Language: en