A case of acute inhalation injury caused by premeditated chlorine gas exposure

Abstract

Chlorine is a toxic gas that causes severe inhalation injury. We report the case of a 43-year-old woman who inhaled chlorine gas generated by mixing household bleach and vinegar. She was referred to our hospital because she had developed respiratory failure. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed diffuse ground-glass opacity and the tree-in-bud pattern. We diagnosed acute inhalation injury compatible with that due to chlorine gas exposure. Six days after admission, her respiratory symptoms and abnormal CT findings fully resolved without the use of bronchodilators or corticosteroids. This is the first report of a patient with acute inhalation injury caused by intentional chlorine gas exposure. It is considered that chlorine gas reached her respiratory tract and induced widespread injury from bronchioles to alveoli.