injuries poisoning
Anticholinergic Chemical Warfare Compounds
Symptoms and Signs of Anticholinergic Chemical Warfare Injuries
Patients have dry mouth and skin, dilated pupils (causing blurring of vision), usually tachycardia, and may develop hyperthermia. Cholinergic blockade in the CNS causes first lethargy and then characteristic anticholinergic illusions and hallucinations; hallucinations may be visual or auditory and are typically concrete and easily describable (eg, voices of known contacts, imaginary television programs, sharing of imaginary cigarettes, odd shapes) in contrast to the abstract, geometric, and ineffable nature of psychedelic hallucinations. Anticholinergic visual hallucinations may also be lilliputian (ie, items hallucinated decrease in size over time—eg, a cow transforms into a dog and then into a mouse or a butterfly). Speech may be slurred, and patients exhibit stereotypical picking or plucking motions (woolgathering) and may confabulate. Stupor and coma may last hours to days, with gradual recovery. 