The effects of sulfur mustard on the skin and their management: reviewing the studies conducted on Iranian chemical victims

Abstract

<span>Background: The skin is among the main tissues affected by</span><br /><span>Sulfur Mustard (SM) in chemical attacks. Iranian researchers</span><br /><span>have performed extensive studies on the exposed victims and</span><br /><span>have reported a wide spectrum of information in this field. The</span><br /><span>main objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive</span><br /><span>revision of data on the pathology, pathogenesis, clinical findings,</span><br /><span>complications, and treatment of sulfur mustard exposure.</span><br /><span>Method: This study was part of a systematic search which</span><br /><span>included all the war related studies on Iranian victims. Among</span><br /><span>nearly 300 retrieved articles, a total of 193 medical articles were</span><br /><span>approved in terms of quality and were related to the Iraq-Iran</span><br /><span>chemical war (1984-1988) out of which 48 were directly related</span><br /><span>to the dermatologic effects of sulfur mustard. We used known</span><br /><span>international databases such as ISI, Medline, Scopus, and Iranian</span><br /><span>databases such as Iranmedex, SID, and Irandoc in this study.</span><br /><span>Publishing the articles in approved journals was the main criterion</span><br /><span>for their quality.</span><br /><span>Result: In this study, the most common symptom in the delayed</span><br /><span>phase of the exposure to SM was itching which was more frequently</span><br /><span>seen in women as compared to men. The most common sign was</span><br /><span>erythema in the skin. One of the chronic complications at the</span><br /><span>site of exposure was mustard scar. Lipoma and cherry angioma</span><br /><span>were the most common skin tumors which were reported.</span><br /><span>Iranian researchers have presented different approaches for the</span><br /><span>management of exposed victims.</span><br /><span>Conclusion: In this study, in addition to the effects of SM on</span><br /><span>the skin, some methods were presented for decontamination,</span><br /><span>management of itching, vesicles, blisters and treatment of chronic</span><br /><span>skin lesions.</span>