Rippey J C R, Stallwood M I
Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Prescot Street, Liverpool, L7 8XP, United Kingdom.
Emerg Med J. 2005 Dec;22(12):878-9. doi: 10.1136/emj.2004.015800.
Dimethyl sulphate (DMS) is an innocuous appearing, widely used, and highly toxic chemical. It is used both as a methylating agent in industrial chemical synthesis and in medical laboratories for chemical cleavage of DNA. It is readily absorbed through the skin, mucous membranes, and gastrointestinal tract. Delayed toxicity allows potentially fatal exposures to occur prior to development of any warning symptoms. Toxicity is manifested initially by mucosal inflammation of eyes, nose, oropharynx, and airways. This can progress to severe airway oedema and necrosis, and non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema. Other systemic effects include convulsions, delirium, coma, and renal, hepatic, and cardiac failure. All these features make DMS a potential chemical weapon. We report nine cases of varying degrees of inhalational exposure to DMS, occurring as a result of a single chemical spillage incident in the United Kingdom. Industrial poisoning is surprisingly rare and there are few previous reports in the literature outside China.
硫酸二甲酯（DMS）是一种看似无害、广泛使用但毒性极强的化学物质。它在工业化学合成中用作甲基化剂，在医学实验室中用于DNA的化学切割。它很容易通过皮肤、粘膜和胃肠道吸收。延迟毒性使得在出现任何警告症状之前可能发生致命暴露。毒性最初表现为眼睛、鼻子、口咽和气道的粘膜炎症。这可能会发展为严重的气道水肿和坏死，以及非心源性肺水肿。其他全身影响包括惊厥、谵妄、昏迷以及肾、肝和心脏衰竭。所有这些特征使DMS成为一种潜在的化学武器。我们报告了9例因英国一起化学品泄漏事件而导致的不同程度的DMS吸入暴露病例。工业中毒出奇地罕见，中国以外的文献中此前报道很少。
