A Case of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Caused By Zinc Fume Inhalation.

Choi, Sang Bun; Seo, Jeong Sook; Han, Yang Chun; Kim, Ae Ran; Hur, Jin Won; Lee, Sung Soon; Lee, Young Min; Lee, Hyuk Pyo; Kim, Joo In; Yum, Ho Kee; Choi, Suk Jin; Choi, Soo Jeon; Lee, Hyun Kyung

doi:2007.62.4.314

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 62(4); 2007 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2007;62(4):314-317.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2007.62.4.314 Published online April 1, 2007.

A Case of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Caused By Zinc Fume Inhalation.

Sang Bun Choi, Jeong Sook Seo, Yang Chun Han, Ae Ran Kim, Jin Won Hur, Sung Soon Lee, Young Min Lee, Hyuk Pyo Lee, Joo In Kim, Ho Kee Yum, Suk Jin Choi, Soo Jeon Choi, Hyun Kyung Lee

¹Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Inje University, Pusan, Korea. goodoc@gmail.com
²Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Inje University, Pusan, Korea.

Abstract

The Inhalation of certain freshly formed metal oxides can cause metal fume fever, which is an acute, self-limiting, flu-like illness. The most common cause of this syndrome is the inhalation of zinc oxide. The inhalation of zinc oxide can lead to tracheobronchiolitis, chemical pulmonary edema or to respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS). We encountered a 43-years-old man who developed severe dyspnea after inhaling of zinc oxide while working for 5 hours in a closed space. He was diagnosed with ARDS and was treated successfully with glucocorticoid. We report a case of ARDS caused by the inhalation of zinc fumes.

Key Words: Zinc fume inhalation, Acute respiratory distress syndrome, Glucocorticoid, N-acetylcysteine