Author(s): Seid Kazem Razavi Ratki, Nasim Namiranian, Abdu-Reza Sadrarhami, Ali Ahmadi Dahaj, Mohammad Sobhan Ardakani,Reza Nafisi Moghadam*
Introduction:
Mustard gas is a known chemical weapon that was used in the 1980-1988 Iran-
Iraq War. It causes many health problems, including serious respiratory damage.
In this study, we
used high-resolution computed tomo
graph
y to assess the pulmonary complications after 20
years
of veterans of the Iran-Iraq War who were exposed to mustard gas.
Materials and Methods:
This
was a follow-up study conducted on 200 Iranian veterans with a history of exposure to mustard
gas at least 20
years previously. High-resolution computed tomo
graph
y was performed on all
veterans and was interpreted by two independent expert radiologists who were blinded to the
study. The frequency of high-resolution computed tomo
graph
y findings was reported. Data
were analyzed with statistical package for the social sciences version
20 software.
Results:
One
hundred twenty veterans (60%) showed HRCT abnormalities. The most frequent high-resolution
computed tomo
graph
y findings were diffuse hyper-aeration, 63
(52.5%); interstitial opacity,
50 (41.7%); parenchymal opacity, 26
(21.7%); bronchiectasis, 15
(12.5%); sub-pleural air
trapping, 13
(10.8%); and local fibrosis, 10
(8.3%). Generally, lower lobes were more frequently
affected.
Conclusion:
This study showed a high frequency of abnormal high-resolution computed
tomo
graph
y findings in veterans who were exposed to mustard gas, and most abnormalities were
irreversible. These findings included diffuse hyper-aeration, interstitial opacity, parenchymal
opacity, bronchiectasis, sub-pleural air trapping, and local fibrosis.