Abstract
OBJECTIVESWe aimed to determine the characteristics of the deceased victims of deaths caused by exposure to humidifier disinfectants, and present the distribution of the victims’ data submitted for damage application, demographic characteristics, imaging findings, characteristics of humidifier disinfectant exposure, and distribution of the causes of death.METHODSAn integrated database of victims was established using the medical records data of 1,413 victims submitted during the application for death damage caused by exposure to humidifier disinfectants, and the demographic characteristics, medical records, imaging findings, exposure characteristics, and cause of death were examined.RESULTSThe average numbers of data submissions of each applicant for death damage were 3.0 medical use records. A total of 608 (43.0%) victims had more than one finding of acute, subacute, or chronic interstitial lung diseases. The average daily and cumulative use times of the victims were 14.40 and 24,645.81 hours, respectively, indicating greater exposure in this group than in the survivors. The humidifier disinfectants’ components comprised polyhexamethylene guanidine (72.8%), chloromethylisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (10.5%), other components (15.0%), and oligo-[2-(2-ethoxy)-ethoxyethyl] guanidine chloride (1.5%). The components’ distribution was 67.8% for single-component use, which was higher than that in the survivors (59.8%). The distribution of the causes of death were: respiratory diseases (54.4%), neoplasms (16.8%), and circulatory diseases (6.3%). Other interstitial lung diseases (65.5%) were the most common cause of death among those who died due to respiratory diseases.CONCLUSIONSCareful discussions of appropriate remedies should be conducted based on a comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of the deceased victims, considering their specificities and limitations.
Highlights
The humidifier disinfectant accident was an unprecedented major environmental disaster that occurred in Korea due to the use of household goods [1]
40 types of humidifier disinfectants were sold on the market in 2011, which were estimated to have been used by approxi
These study results suggest that the health problems caused by exposure to humidifier disinfectants are not limited to pulmonary diseases, but can be accompanied by various physical and psychiatric problems
Summary
The humidifier disinfectant accident was an unprecedented major environmental disaster that occurred in Korea due to the use of household goods [1]. Humidifier disinfectants containing chemicals, oligo-[2-(2-ethoxy)-ethoxyethyl] guanidine chloride (PGH), polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG), and chloromethylisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (CMIT/MIT), as their main components, were first launched in Korea in 1994. 40 types of humidifier disinfectants were sold on the market in 2011, which were estimated to have been used by approxi-
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