A Case of Chemical Pneumonitis Caused by Nitric Acid Fume Inhalation.

Ha, Jun Wook; Lee, Seung Soon; Eom, Kwang Seok; Bahn, Joon Woo; Jang, Seung Hun; Kim, Dong Gyu; Lee, In Jae; Lee, Yul; Jung, Ki Suck

doi:2004.56.6.670

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 56(6); 2004 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2004;56(6):670-676.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2004.56.6.670 Published online June 1, 2004.

A Case of Chemical Pneumonitis Caused by Nitric Acid Fume Inhalation.

Jun Wook Ha, Seung Soon Lee, Kwang Seok Eom, Joon Woo Bahn, Seung Hun Jang, Dong Gyu Kim, In Jae Lee, Yul Lee, Ki Suck Jung

¹Division of Pulmonology, Department of Internal Medicine, Hallym University College of Medicine, An Yang, Korea. pulmoks@hallym.or.kr
²Department of Radiology, Hallym University College of Medicine, An Yang, Korea.

Abstract

Chemical pneumonitis is caused by the inhalation of noxious chemical substances and is a cause of occupational lung disease. Nitric acid, which is a one of the common air pollutants and a potential oxidant for refining and cleansing of metals, has a chance for occupational and environmental exposure. A 52-year-old man visited our hospital due to coughing and dyspnea after the inhalation of nitric acid fumes at his workplace. He had conditions of tachypnea (respiratory rate 26 /min) and hypoxemia (PaO2 42.6 mmHg, SaO2 80.2% in room air) in our emergency department. The chest radiographs showed diffuse interstitial infiltrates and ground glass opacity in both lungs. The patient made improvements in clinical symptoms and chest radiography after being given a supply of oxygen, antibiotics, and bronchodilator therapy without systemic glucocorticoid therapy. On his follow up visit after 4 weeks, he showed no symptoms and sequelae, and the pulmonary function test showed a normal pulmonary function.

Key Words: Chemical pneumonitis, Nitric acid, Occupational lung disease