Obstructive lung disease from acute sulfur dioxide exposure.

A previously healthy, non-smoking young man is presented who was briefly exposed to a high concentration of sulfur dioxide. An immediate episode of pulmonary edema was followed by a silent interval with subsequent development of a severe, irreversible obstructive syndrome. This history, together with radiographs showing hyperinflation and sequential physiologic studies indicative of obstruction without bronchospasm and without loss of parenchyma suggest bronchiolitis obliterans as the causative lesion. The literature concerning this syndrome and its relationship to toxic inhalation is briefly reviewed.