Thermal Balance of Men Under Atropine Therapy Wearing Chemical Protective Clothing
Abstract
In warm environments the use of atropine in the treatment of casualties from anticholinesterase agents presents a possible hazard because the inhibition of sweating by atropine may lead to a dangerous rise in body temperature. Recently it was shown that after a 2-mg dose of atropine sulfate the effects of a deficit in sweating could be avoided by artificial wetting the clothing. One objective was to test this concept when the dose was increased to 6 mg. At this dose and an indoor temperature of 41 deg C, an initial wetting of the clothing with a liter of water was sufficient to prevent an undue rise in body temperature for 3 hours whereas when the clothing was initially dry the body temperature rose at an unsafe rate. A second objective was to evaluate the efficiency of evaporative cooling from wet clothing as a fraction of the evaporative cooling required to balance the heat equation. The conclusions were as follows: The elevation of body temperature in men wearing the two-layer chemical protective assembly in consequence of the inhibition of sweating by atropine given for treatment of the effects of anticholinesterase agents can be prevented by artificial wetting of the clothing. The efficiency of evaporative cooling of clothed men decreases as the water content of the clothing increases.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1973
- Accession Number
- AD0770378
Entities
People
- E. G. Cummings
- F. N. Craig