Occupational gasoline poisoning (a report of two acute fatal poisonings)

ABSTRACT

During the Japanese Occupation, several laborers assigned to clean underground gasoline tanks from two to five hours a day, fell sick. Five of them died in the hospital three in the Japanese Naval Hospital; two others in the San Lazaro HospitalThe most prominent symptoms of the acute cases were salivation, marked redness of the mucous membrane of the eyes, profuse sweating, diplopia, unsteady gait, hesitance in movement, tremors of the hands, twitching of facial muscles, euphoria, dysarthic speech. In the later stage, the patient talked incoherently, his pulse grew rapid, his eyes rolled upwards, and his temperature went very high suggestive of lead, encephalitis. Before death, the patient developed unconcsciousness, cyanosis of lips and fingers, and Chyne-Stokes respiration. In one case, leucocytes went down to 4,100The best treatment is blood transfusion and the administration of liver extract. Other treatments are only symptomaticAs a preventive measure it is important that gasoline vapor be reduced to less than 500 parts per milion of air. The use of respirators is recommended. (Summary)