Long-term effects of mustard gas on respiratory system of Iranian veterans after Iraq-Iran war: a review

【Abstract】To review long-term respiratory effects of mustard gas on Iranian veterans having undergone Iraq-Iran war. Electronic databases of Scopus, Medline, ISI, IranMedex, and Irandoc sites were searched. We accepted articles published in scientific journals as a quality criterion. The main pathogenic factors are free radical mediators. Preva-lence of pulmonary involvement is approximately 42.5%. The most common complaints are cough and dyspnea. Major respiratory complications are chronic obstructive pulmo-nary disease, bronchiectasis, and asthma. Spirometry re-sults can reveal restrictive and obstructive pulmonary disease. Plain chest X-ray does not help in about 50% of lung diseases. High-resolution CT of the lung is the best modality for diagnostic assessment of parenchymal lung and bronchi. There is no definite curative treatment for mus-tard lung. The effective treatment regimens consist of oxy-gen administration, use of vaporized moist air, respiratory physiotherapy, administration of mucolytic agents, bronchodilators, corticosteroids, and long-acting beta-2 agonists, antioxidants, surfactant, magnesium ions, thera-peutic bronchoscopy, laser therapy, placement of respira-tory stents, early tracheostomy in laryngospasm, and ulti-mately lung transplantation. High-resolution CT of the lung is the most accurate modality for the evaluation of the lung parenchyma and bronchi. The treatment efficacy of patients exposed to mustard gas depends on patient conditions (acute or chronic, upper or lower respiratory tract involvement). There are various treatment protocols, but unfortunately none of them is definitely curable. Key words: Lung injury; Chemical warfare; Mustard gas