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Martin L. Dalton, Jr. and Donald L. Bricker
NIOSH Education and Information Division
AUTHOR ABSTRACT
The
common fertilizer, anhydrous ammonia, is also an extremely
toxic poison. Following accidental exposure, severe burns
of the exposed skin, the eyes, and the respiratory tract are
quite common. During the past seven years we have treated
six of these patients, three of whom required tracheostomy
and management using a mechanical ventilator. The symptoms
and physical findings are described, as is a three-course
plan of management, beginning with the initial management
at the stage of the accident progressing to emergency room
care and, finally, mechanical ventilator therapy in the surgical
intensive care unit. Physicians practicing in rural areas
should be alert to the danger of anhydrous ammonia and should
be quick to recommend tracheostomy in patients who have any
degree of respiratory insufficiency following exposure to
anhydrous ammonia. Rules for avoiding injury are also included.
JOURNAL AND
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE ID#
JOURNAL:
Tex Med. 1978; 74(9): 51-54.
Note:
Texas Medicine.
NLOM ID#:
79036052
.
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NASD Review: 04/2002
This
document was extracted from the CDC-NIOSH Epidemiology of
Farm Related Injuries: Bibliography With Abstracts, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service,
Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health.
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