CASE REPORT OF ACUTE RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME DUE TO NITROGEN DIOXIDE EXPOSURE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59354/ydth175.2025.392Keywords:
Nitrogen dioxide exposure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, lung-protective mechanical ventilation, pulse corticosteroid therapyAbstract
Acute lung injury due to nitrogen dioxide (NO2 ) exposure is a rare disease, caused by the effect of NO2 on the airways and alveoli. The disease can cause life[1]threatening conditions, or leavel behind changes in airway and lung parenchyma leading to chronic respiratory function impairment such as bronchiolitis obliterans. The disease progresses in 3 stages: acute, subacute, and chronic stage. For severe acute lung injury cases, treatment includes ventilation, respiratory-circulatory resuscitation, and treatment according to the pathogenesis. There have been a few reports of acute NO2 exposure in the world, but there is no consensus on treatment methods for these patients. We report a 64-year-old male patient, with no history of chronic lung disease, who has inhaled NO2 gas due to an occupational accident. The patient was admitted to the emergency room 4 hours after NO2 exposure in a state of acute respiratory failure. He was treated with lung-protective mechanical ventilation and pulse corticosteroid therapy along with other supportive measures. The lung injury has been improved, and the patient was extubated on the 5th day and was discharged from the hospital on the 15th day. This case contributes additional data to research and treatment of acute lung injury due to nitrogen dioxide exposure.
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