- Reactive airway disease
Reactive Airways Dysfunction Syndrome or RADS (also known as Reactive Airway Disease or RAD) is a term proposed by S.M. Brooks and colleagues in 1985 [cite web | author= S.M. Brooks, M.A. Weiss, I.L. Bernstein | title=Reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS): persistent asthma syndrome after high level irritant exposures | url=http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/ijlink?linkType=ABST&journalCode=chest&resid=88/3/376 | publisher=Chest, Volume 88, 1985, 376-384 | accessdate=2007-08-28] to describe an asthma-like syndrome developing after a single exposure to high levels of an irritating vapor, fume, or smoke. [cite web | author= John V. Fahy and Paul M. O'Byrne | title="Reactive Airways Disease": A Lazy Term of Uncertain Meaning That Should Be Abandoned | url=http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/full/163/4/822 | publisher=Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 163, Number 4, March 2001, 822-823 | accessdate=2007-04-22] In time, however, it has evolved to be mistakenly used as a synonym for
asthma [cite web | author= Mayo Clinic Staff | title=Reactive airway disease: Is it asthma? | url=http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/reactive-airway-disease/AN01420 | date=Sep 4, 2006 | publisher=Mayo Clinic | accessdate=2007-04-22] . Current usage of the term in the medical community is to describe an asthma-like syndrome in infants that may later be confirmed to be asthma when they become old enough to participate in diagnostic tests such as themethacholine challenge test. It can also manifest in adults with exposure to high levels of Chlorine gas, creating symptoms like asthma. The severity of these symptoms can be mild to fatal, and can even create long term airway damage depending on the amount of exposure and the concentration of Chlorine. Some experts classify RADS as occupational asthma. Those with exposure to high irritating substances should receive treatment to mitigate harmful effects. [cite web| author= Aslan, Sahin1Kandiş, Hayati1Akgun, Metin2Çakır, Zeynep1Inandı, Tacettin3Görgüner, Metin| title=The Effect of Nebulized NaHCO3 Treatment on 'RADS' Due to Chlorine Gas Inhalation| url=http://web.ebscohost.com| publisher=Inhalation Toxicology., Volume 18, Number 11, 2006,895-900| accessdate=2008-04-06]References
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