Effect of therapeutic arsenic exposure on pulmonary function.

Arsenic-contaminated drinking water has been associated with respiratory diseases and lung function impairment. Oral arsenic trioxide (ATO) is a standard treatment for acute promyelocytic leukaemia. This study aimed to explore the effect of therapeutic exposure to arsenic on lung function. This was a case-control cross-sectional study on patients with haematological malignancies with or without exposure to ATO. Full lung function tests and serum Clara cell protein 16 (CC16) were measured. There were 57 cases (arsenic exposed) and 57 matched controls (arsenic non-exposed) recruited. Among cases, the median duration of ATO exposure was 519 (194-1259) days. The mean FEV1/FVC ratio, FEV1 (% predicted), and RV/TLC (%), as well as % subjects with FEV1/FVC below lower limits of normal (LLN), were similar in the two groups with or without arsenic exposure. However the mean TLC (% predicted) and DLCO/VA were significantly higher in arsenic-exposed versus non-exposed group (p = 0.01 and p = 0.008 respectively). There were mildly reduced FEV1/FVC ratio and FEF25-75 (% predicted), largely within normal limits, among high level arsenic exposure compared with non-exposure (p = 0.01 and p = 0.05 respectively). Serum CC16 was comparable among both arsenic exposed and non-exposed groups. Therapeutic use of oral ATO for a median of around 1.5 years was not associated with clinically significant lung function impairment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

James Chung-Man Ho, Wing-Yan Au, Li Han, Yok-Lam Kwong, Mary Sau-Man Ip. Effect of therapeutic arsenic exposure on pulmonary function. Respiratory medicine. 2013 Sep;107(9):1423-30

PMID: 23835189

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