Abstract

Welders are exposed to a number of hazards including metal fumes, toxic gases, electricity, heat, noise, and radiation such as ultraviolet and infrared light. We encountered a patient who developed non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema within a day after cutting copper pipe with an oxyethylene torch. The patient was a 26-year-old welder. He complained of dyspnea, generalized myalgia, and febrile sensation the following morning. The patient's chest X-ray and chest CT scan showed extensively distributed and ill-defined centrilobular nodules. Both his symptoms and chest X-ray abnormalities improved spontaneously. We attributed the patient's symptoms to non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema due to nitrogen dioxide, reasoning that: 1) the pipe consisted only of copper, according to material safety data sheet (MSDS); 2) a previous report in the literature demonstrated increased nitrogen dioxide levels under similar conditions; 3) the patient's clinical course and radiologic findings were very reminiscent of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema following accidental exposure to nitrogen dioxide.

• Keywords: Welder;Oxyethylene torch;Non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema;Nitrogen dioxide;;