Skin manifestations in sulfur mustard exposed victims with ophthalmologic complications: Association between early and late phase

Sulfur mustard (SM) was used during the Iraq-Iran war (1980-1988). Exposed veterans continue to suffer from its ocular, skin, and respiratory complications. We aimed to evaluate associations between early (at the time of acute exposure) and decades later skin manifestations in individuals with severe ophthalmologic complications secondary to sulfur mustard exposure. One hundred forty-nine veterans with severe ocular injuries were evaluated for acute and chronic skin complications. Logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between early and late skin manifestations. Late skin complaints were observed in nearly all survivors who had early skin lesions (131 out of 137; 95.62%). Seven out of 12 patients (58.33%) who did not have early skin lesions ultimately developed late skin complications. There was a significant relationship between the presence of lesions at the time of exposure and developing late skin complaints (two-sided Fisher's exact test, OR = 15.59, p