USAMRICD TECH MEMO 90 1 CLINICAL NOTES ON CHEM CASUALTY CARE

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Subject: USAMRICD TECH MEMO 90 1 CLINICAL NOTES ON CHEM CASUALTY CARE    

Unit: OTSG        

Parent Organization: HSC         

Box  ID: BX003205

Folder Title: CLINICAL NOTES ON CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE                                                        

Document Number:          1

Folder Seq  #:         31



               16 '90 11:45                                                P.19





          U      CD Technical memorandum 90-1

                          casualties, e.g., those needing surgery for
                          conventional wounds; therefore, these would be
                          triaged as delayed. A casualty with burns and
                          vesication of a large percent of body surface
                          area, or with an early onset of respiratory
                          lesions (the earlier the onset, the more severe
                          the lesion will be) does not have a good prognosis
                          under the best of circumstances and consideration
                          might be given to placing him in the expectant
                          group.
                     3.  Long term effects
                          a. Skin scarring, changes In pigmentation
                          b. Lung effects: scarring of airways with
                           stenosis. Studies after WWI suggested an
                           association between mustard exposure and chronic
                           lung disease (chronic bronchitis, emphysema), but
                           the studies in general were not well controlled
                           (e.g., occupational @osures, multiple exposures
                           to agents, smoking)
                          0. Cancer: Cancer of respiratory traot seems to
                           be increased in workers with multiple daily
                           exposures; questionable increase after 1--2
                           exposures (military exposure)
                          d. Eye: visual impairment, blindness. Incidence
                           very small after WWI
                          e. A two year follow up of 236 Iranian soldiers
                           as reported by Iranian physicians:
                               Respiratory 78% (chronic bronchitis, 38%;
         asthma like symptoms, 29%)
                               CNS 45% (neurosis, 31t; depression, 26%;
                                personality disorder, 21%)
                               Skin 41% (pigment changes, 50*)
                               Eyes 36% (chronic conjunctivitis, 32t)
                          f.    Sensitization:      Mustard sensitizes and
                               reexposure, even to a small amount, may cause
                               a more severe reaction.
          41 LEWISITE

               A.   Not used in WWI; very little clinical information
               B.   is colorless, oily liquid
               C.   Odor of geraniums
               D.   Is more volatile than mustard; maintenance of effective
                     vapor concentrations is difficult. A thickener, e.g.,
                     an acrylate, might be used to allow better dispersion
                     and to slow vaporization (TL).
               E. Also has much lower freezing point than mustard and
               might be mixed with mustard CHL) to lower the freezing
               point of the mixture (for use in cold weather; for
               aerial spraying). If exposed before masking, the

Document 22 f:/Week-36/BX003205/CLINICAL NOTES ON CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE/usamricd tech memo 90 1 clinical notes on chem c:12249609312728
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-36
Box ID = BX003205
Unit = OTSG
Parent Organization = HSC
Folder Title = CLINICAL NOTES ON CHEMICAL CASUALTY CARE
Folder Seq # = 31
Subject = USAMRICD TECH MEMO 90 1 CLINICAL NOTES ON CHEM C
Document Seq # = 1
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 24-DEC-1996