Pentachlorophenol poisoning in a nursery for newborn infants. I. Clinical features and treatment

Abstract

Nine neonates, all born in the same hospital, presented with a syndrome characterized by excessive sweating, tachycardia, tachypnea, respiratory distress, hepatic enlargement, and metabolic acidosis. Two of these infants died. The clinical condition of the first infant seen with this syndrome deteriorated rapidly and he died; the autopsy revealed fatty infiltration of the liver and fatty degeneration of renal tubular cells. Six subsequent patients who presented with severe manifestations of the illness were subjected to exchange blood transfusion and in each instance there was a dramatic improvement following this therapy. All 6 infants survived, as did a seventh infant who recovered with only supportive therapy. The second death occurred in an infant in whom the clinical condition deteriorated so rapidly that exchange transfusion could not be performed. Subsequent investigation revealed that 11 additional infants had been affected with a similar but milder illness and that the syndrome had been produced by the percutaneous absorption of pentachlorophenol which had been used in the laundering of the diapers and the infants' bed linen.