Læknablaðið - 01.10.1966, Page 51

LÆKNABLAÐIÐ
217
i'orm getur að vísu ert í augu (sbr. Moeschlin 1965). Réttmætt
virðist þó engu að síður að mæla með því sökum lítilla eiturhrifa,
þegar óskað er eftir „blettavatni“ til heimilisnota eða leysiefni til
nota í iðnaði eða öðrum atvinnugreinum.
Summary.
Bjarnason, Ó., T. Jóhannesson & T. Á. Jónasson: Poisonings due to
tetrachloromethan and trichloroethylene in Reykjavík during the
years 1945—1964. (From the Departments of Pathology and Pharmaco-
logy, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland, and Landakotsspítali
(The Sct Joseph’s Hospital) Reykjavík.
A rapport is given of all known cases of tetrachloromethan and
trichloroethylene poisonings treated at hospitals and/or examined post
mortem at The Department of Pathology, University of Iceland, Reykja-
vík, during the 20 years period 1945—1964. It was also investigated
whether there were any known cases of poisonings due to tetrachloro-
ethylene. However, no such cases were found on records. The main
features of each case are summarized in tables 1 and 2.
Ten out of eleven persons poisoned with tetrachloromethan were
severely affected and five of them died. Only 4 cases of trichloroethyl-
ene poisoning were found on records. Two of them recovered, whereas
the other two died. Death due to trichloroethylene was, however, com-
plicated with asphyxia in one case and aspiration in the other. Liver
and renal affections were much more prevalent in cases of tetrachloro-
methan poisonings than in cases of poisonings due to trichloroethylene.
Eight out of eleven persons poisoned with tetrachloromethan had con-
sumed alcohol during or in close connection to exposure, whereas
presumably none of those who suffered trichloroethylene poisoning
had ingested alcohol during exposure.
Two cases of accidental tetrachloromethan poisonings were rap-
ported in detail in so far as they were considered typical of the occur-
rence and course of severe, acute tetrachloromethan poisonings: In the
first case (nr. X), a 19 years old sailor inadvertently ingested an un-
known quantity of tetrachloromethan under alcoholic influence. On
admission to hospital approximately 24 hours later, he was jaundiced,
anaemic, uraemic and hypochloraemic with albumine and red blood
corpuscles in urine. Urinary output diminished on the 3rd day in spite
of treatment with fluids given intravenously and he died in coma. The
post mortem examination showed lung oedema, centrilobular liver
necrosis (cf. figs. 1 and 2) and parenchymatous degeneration of the
kidneys. In the second case (nr. XI), an alcoholic male slept over night
in a small room with windows closed and an open container with
tetrachloromethan. The first complaints were vomiting and chestpain
accompanied by elevated temperature. The pt. was treated at home for
bronchitis for a few days. Later he was admitted to hospital in a state