Protective effect of povidone-iodine ointment against skin lesions induced by sulphur and nitrogen mustards and by non-mustard vesicants

Uri Wormser*, Berta Brodsky, Bernard S. Green, Rina Arad-Yellin, Abraham Nyska

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

50 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mustard gas (sulphur mustard, SM) is a powerful vesicant employed as a chemical weapon. The present study demonstrates the effect of povidone iodine (PI) ointment against skin toxicity caused by SM. Gross and histopathological examinations showed that application of PI up to 20 min following exposure to the vesicant resulted in marked skin protection. The shorter the interval between exposure and treatment the better was the protection achieved. PI was also effective against other mustards such as carboxybutyl chloroethyl sulphide (CBCS) and mechlorethamine. The fact that PI protected the skin against agents which cannot be oxidized such as iodoacetic acid, divinylsulphone and cantharidine showed that the antidotal effect of PI was unrelated to oxidation of the nitrogen and sulphur atoms of the mustards. PI ointment is proposed as an efficient protective agent against skin toxicity caused by mustards and other alkylators.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)165-170
Number of pages6
JournalArchives of Toxicology
Volume71
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1997

Keywords

  • Alkylating agents
  • Antidote
  • Mustard gas

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