Abstract

NAVARRO REYNOSO, Francisco Pascual; CARRILLO RAMIREZ, Silvia del Carmen; OCHOA SALMORAN, Humberto  and  ORTEGA CHAVARRIA, María José. Chemical pneumonitis secondary to accidental inhalation of heptane. Acta méd. Grupo Ángeles [online]. 2018, vol.16, n.4, pp.353-356.  Epub Oct 02, 2020. ISSN 1870-7203.

Smoke, warmth or chemicals, when inhalated, may cause injury to the respiratory tract. An hypersensibility reaction is caused by antigens on the lung parenchyma. The symptomatology presents itself hours or even days after the antigen exposure and the radiologic manifestations include acute pulmonary edema, interstitial fibrosis, diffused bilateral ground-glass, opacities, especially in subacute forms. The mainstay in treatment is the avoidance of the causative antigen, supportive therapies, costioesteroid therapy and bronchodilators. The prognosis is good: 90% of the patients are able to fully recover, the other 10%, presents acute respiratory failure, larynx injury or acute pulmonary edema. We present the case of a man, 39 years old, with accidental exposure to a product made of heptane; this man was admitted to Intensive Care Unit and was treated with corticosteroids, invasive mechanical ventilation, for 96 hours, with appropriate response to the treatment.

Keywords : Pneumonitis; heptane; hydrocarbons.

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