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Environmental Inhaled Agents and Their Relation to Lung Cancer
Published in Jacob Loke, Pathophysiology and Treatment of Inhalation Injuries, 2020
Exposure to fumes from the kerosene stove as a risk factor for lung cancer in Chinese women was first suggested by Leung in Hong Kong (1977). This observation is of particular interest because lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Hong Kong (98% of the population being Chinese) who have one of the highest lung cancer mortality rates in the world (28.5/100,000 or 26% of all female cancer deaths in 1984) (Hong Kong Government, 1985). Previous reports (Chan et al., 1979; Lam et al., 1983) have shown that about half of the patients were nonsmokers. Kerosene was the main cooking fuel in Hong Kong in the 1950s and 1960s, being replaced by cleaner fuels such as liquid petroleum gas and piped coal gas in the last 10 years or so. Electricity has not been popular because its heat is more difficult to control and thus not favorable for the Chinese style of cooking. In two subsequent case-control studies (Koo et al., 1984; Lam et al., 1985), the association between kerosene fuel use and lung cancer was found to be weak and not significant (p > 0.01), with no clearly defined dose-response relationship. The numbers of patients however were small, 200 and 163 only; further studies in larger number of patients are indicated.
Acute Lung Injury In Children Due To Chemical And Physical Agents
Published in Lourdes R. Laraya-Cuasay, Walter T. Hughes, Interstitial Lung Diseases in Children, 2019
Many times the agent has been removed from the original container and put into a glass, cup, soft drink, or wine bottle.204, 205, 209, 217-219, 222 Combinations of “mischievousness”, carelessness in storage,224-226 and poor parental supervision have been cited as major predisposing factors.222, 225, 227, 228 The oily taste and smell of kerosene may not be appreciated by the victim until several gulps have been swallowed.209 Mineral seal oil has a pleasant smell and taste which seem to encourage large volumes to be ingested.205, 207, 215 In developing countries, kerosene is used as fuel, mostly among middle and lower income families, and ingestion by children is seen frequently.222, 229 In these cases, cups or jars frequently had been placed on the floor to catch the drip from a leaking fuel line to a stove.221 In Iraq, kerosene has been used as a medicine against worms,222 and in the U.S. kerosene has erroneously been thought to be a remedy for colds and croup.230, 231 Siblings have been known to feed hydrocarbons to infants less than 6 months of age.213 One 8-month-old was given kerosene instead of water in a nursing bottle, with fatal results.228 Intentional poisoning by abusive parents has been observed, and a bizarre case of a mother who injected her hospitalized child with i. v. naphtha with diastrous results has been reported.232
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Published in Anton Sebastian, A Dictionary of the History of Medicine, 2018
Kerosene [Greek: keros, wax] Colorless volatile liquid obtained from petroleum and given its present name by Abraham Gesner in 1852. It was used for control of malaria by spreading it over ponds in the early iqoos. The American army physician, William C. Gorgas (1845–1920) used it to control yellow fever in Havana in 1901.
Air pollution and human health risks: mechanisms and clinical manifestations of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2022
Habib Allah Shahriyari, Yousef Nikmanesh, Saeid Jalali, Noorollah Tahery, Akram Zhiani Fard, Nasser Hatamzadeh, Kourosh Zarea, Maria Cheraghi, Mohammad Javad Mohammadi
Good ventilation of homes and better stoves are the keys decrease in emitting smoke from cooking and heating fuels (Vestbo et al.2013, Majeed et al.2020). Based on result, different studies improved stoves can improve indoor air quality (Yorifuji et al. 2016). Using alternative energy sources such as solar cooking and electrical heating is also effective. Using fuels such as kerosene or coal might be less bad than traditional biomass such as wood or dung (Pirozzi and Scholand 2012). Improvements in both air quality and health outcomes are the main advantage of emission control (Yorifuji et al.2016). Combination of controlling the indoor air sources and selecting appropriate ventilation rate (increased to remove remaining pollutants) was the most effective to reduce health risks (Asikainen et al.2016).
Toxicological exposures among the pediatric patients at a tertiary care center in Lebanon: the case for establishing a national poison center
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2021
Tharwat El Zahran, Hala Mostafa, Hani Hamade, Eveline Hitti, Brent W. Morgan, Ziad Kazzi
In addition, some of our patients had toxicological exposures due to elemental mercury from old thermometers, and from kerosene, which has been traditionally used as a cleaning substance in Lebanon. Digital thermometers have generally replaced mercury-based thermometers due to their increased safety and ease of use, yet we still see them being used in Lebanese households. Nationwide policies governing the availability and use of mercury-based thermometers may be needed. Similarly, kerosene, which is a highly flammable, colorless substance making it easily confused with water, especially by young children, can be replaced with other cleaning substances. Kerosene has been entirely banned in some places, including parts of India due to its increased toxicity and health hazard. In Lebanon, kerosene is readily available and is often stored inappropriately due to a lack of awareness of its toxicity. Here, again, national policies controlling the use of materials such as elemental mercury and kerosene are urgently needed.
Protecting the vulnerable by design – a tribute to Dinesh Mohan(1945–2021)
Published in International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, 2021
Kavi Bhalla, Geetam Tiwari, Mathew Varghese, Brian O’Neill, Shrikant I. Bangdiwala
In 1979, Dinesh moved to India and joined the faculty of IIT-Delhi and set about reframing the principles of injury prevention so that they would be appropriate for a more global context rather than the Western focus in which they were originally developed. The main ideas were presented in a series of books and edited collections, with contributions from the leading figures in the field of injury prevention (Mohan & Berger, 1996; Barss et al., 1998; Mohan & Tiwari, 2000; Peden et al., 2004; Tiwari et al., 2005; Mohan, 2013a; Tiwari & Mohan, 2016) . Using available epidemiological data from India and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) as well as his own observations, these articles presented the broad swath of injuries that are common in LMIC settings and provided a sketch of how these could be mitigated using the basic principles of the injury prevention field (Mohan, 1986a, 1986b) (Figure 2). For instance, Dinesh described unique risk factors for falls that were common in India but not in high-income countries (HICs), including flying kites from roofs, sleeping on roofs and unguarded windows. For poisonings, he described how kerosene ingestion is the most common accidental poisoning for children because of its common use in stoves and lamps, and because it is colourless and often sold and stored in empty soft drink bottles.