British anti-lewisite

Abstract

Treatment of lewisite burns in rats with 2,3-dimercaptopropanol (BAL) increased urinary excretion of As, even when treatment was delayed for 1 hr. after contamination and caused a diminution in amt. of As left in the skin 48 hrs. after contamination. Up to 33% of the As applied to the skin was recovered in the 24 hr. urine sample. Subcut. or intraperit. injns. of large amts. of BAL into rats or rabbits were followed by excretion of unidentified thiol (or thiols) in the urine. In rabbits, thiol excretion after a single dose of BAL began to fall off after 3-4 hrs. but was still above preinjection levels after 6 hrs. In rabbits, a transient albuminuria accompanied thiol excretion without evidence of any serious or permanent functional damage to the kidney.