10 Today, there is no literature available about pulmonary effects in humans after aspiration or inhalation of calcium

sulfate, while respiratory manifestations of acute inhalation and aspiration accidents of other mineral dusts like talcum and silica are extensively www.selleckchem.com/products/ly2157299.html reported. We will present the clinical observations of other mineral dust aspiration accidents briefly below. Talcum powder consists of finely ground magnesium silicate. Talcum is therapeutically used for pleurodesis in malignant effusions.11 Commonly used for baby care before, it has lead to acute mineral dust inhalation and aspiration accidents especially in children. The described cases often occur during diaper changes, when talcum powder is accidentally spilled over the baby’s face. The children can present delayed hours after accidental inhalation VX-809 solubility dmso or aspiration with severe respiratory difficulties.12 Treatment is supportive and includes steroid administration and antibiotic treatment.12 and 13 Bronchoalveolar lavage has been advocated but remains controversial.12 Outcome can be fatal. Crystalline silica is another mineral dust leading to pulmonary diseases.14 Although silica is the most copious mineral on earth, acute silicosis is rare. In acute silicosis symptoms develop within weeks to years after exposure to crystalline

silica.14 Patients can develop respiratory failure in a short time as described in previous reviews.15 Symptoms are often present before radiographic changes occur. The later include diffuse nodular opacities, which can confluence.14 SB-3CT Treatment of acute silicosis is mainly supportive, but steroid medication can be beneficial.16 Ultimately, pulmonary transplantation has been described in one single case for a patient with aspiration-induced silicosis.17 In general, the prognosis of patients with acute silicosis remains poor.15 In analogy to these treatment strategies, and the animal studies described before, we decided to treat our patient with steroids and antibiotic

treatment after emergency bronchoscopy. Because of the risk of exothermic burns from the chemical reaction upon water of the remaining almost dry gypsum powder chunks in the tracheobronchial tree we did not perform bronchoalveolar lavage. The outcome of our patient was favorable after 3 months with no respiratory symptoms indicating bronchial hyperresponsiveness, no lung functional limitations and no radiological anomalies. This report shows the first case of accidental aspiration of a large amount of gypsum powder. The patient was treated by bronchoscopy with aspiration of remaining endobronchial gypsum deposits. To avoid a further exothermic reaction and to prevent further distribution of gypsum into the lung parenchyma, we minimized local anesthesia and did not apply any additional saline during this procedure. The outcome was favorable with no residual clinical symptoms, no lung function impairment or radiological manifestations after 3 months.