Citation

Balfour AJ. Aviat. Space Environ. Med. 1989; 60(7 Pt 2): A4-5.

Affiliation

RAF Institute of Pathology and Tropical Medicine, Halton, Aylesbury, Bucks, England.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Aerospace Medical Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

2775119

Abstract

Cinchonism is the well-known syndrome of quinine overdose involving disturbances of vision, hearing, and balance, which has occasional importance in aviation pathology, usually related to ingestion of tonic water. One study showed 100 mg of quinine taken in tonic water is sufficient to produce positional abnormalities of the electronystagmograph. Blood levels of quinine of about 0.2 mg.L-1 found at autopsy in pilots who died in aviation accidents in which positional cues seemed to be important suggest that quinine toxicity played a causative role.

Language: en