Citation

Timperley CM, Forman JE, Abdollahi M, Al-Amri AS, Baulig A, Benachour D, Borrett V, Cariño FA, Geist M, Gonzalez D, Kane W, Kovarik Z, Martínez-Álvarez R, Fusaro Mourão NM, Neffe S, Raza SK, Rubaylo V, Suárez AG, Takeuchi K, Tang C, Trifirò F, van Straten FM, Vanninen PS, Vucinić S, Zaitsev V, Zafar-Uz-Zaman M, Zina MS, Holen S. Toxicology 2019; 415: 56-69.

Affiliation

Secretrary to the OPCW Scientific Advisory Board, 2011-2016, the Netherlands.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.tox.2019.01.004

PMID

30639304

Abstract

The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has provided advice on assistance and protection in relation to the Chemical Weapons Convention. In this, the first of three sequential papers describing the SAB's work on this topic, we describe advice given in response to questions from the OPCW Director-General in 2013 and 2014 on the status of available medical countermeasures and treatments to blister and nerve agents. This paper provides the evidence base for this advice which recommended to the OPCW pretreatments, emergency care, and long-term treatments that were available at the time of the request for both classes of chemical warfare agent (CWA). It includes a bibliography of over 200 scientific references, which can be used as a platform for watching future medical countermeasure developments. The information provided in this paper should serve as a valuable reference for medical professionals and emergency responders who may have no knowledge of the symptoms and treatment options of exposure to CWAs.

Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Language: en

Keywords

Assistance and protection against chemical weapons; Chemical Weapons Convention; Chemical warfare agent; Medical countermeasures; Medical management of chemical warfare casualties; The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons