What are the symptoms of mustard gas poisoning?

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Mustard gas was first widely used by the German army in the late WWI (July 1917), and then followed by the armies of various countries, resulting in a large number of casualties. Its casualty rate accounted for 88.7% of the total casualties of 1.3 million, so it was called "king of poisons". From WW I to Iran Iraq war, mustard gas has been proved to be one of the most effective chemical warfare agents. What are the symptoms of mustard gas poisoning? Let's talk about it.

What are the symptoms of mustard gas poisoning?

It is characterized by rapid absorption, local fixation, uniform distribution, rapid disappearance in blood circulation, non-toxic metabolites and excretion in urine. Mustard gas remained on the body surface 2-3 minutes after contacting with skin and mucous membrane (it can be removed with disinfectant at this time), and most of it was absorbed 10-15 minutes later.

The absorption rate is 1-4 μ g/(cm2·min)。 About 12% of the mustard gas is "fixed" in the local area, causing injury, and most of the rest enters the blood circulation and distributes throughout the body. The contents of kidney, lung and liver are higher, which may be related to blood supply. Systemic absorption is related to the sensitivity of tissues and organs.

The free state of mustard gas in the blood retention time is generally not more than 30 minutes (half value period is 14 minutes). However, drasch et al. Recently reported that mustard gas can stay in tissues and organs for 7 days after severe poisoning. At present, the absorption of mustard gas is different from that of nitrogen mustard, mainly due to its fat soluble diffusion and passive absorption.

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Although the mechanism of mustard gas poisoning has been studied for a long time, it has not been fully elucidated. At present, it is believed that mustard gas mainly combines with nucleic acid, enzyme, protein and other biological macromolecules in the body, especially the alkylation of DNA is the biological basis of causing extensive damage to the body. It has similar pharmacological and toxicological properties with anticancer chemotherapeutic alkylating agents (or alkylating agents).