Assessment of Non-Abraded Wear of Skin Exposure Reduction Paste Against Chemical Warfare Agents (SERPACWA).

摘要

Skin Exposure Reduction Paste Against Chemical Warfare Agents (SERPACWA) is an FDA-approved topical skin protectant developed to complement the use of chemical protective clothing in preventing exposure to chemical/ biological warfare agents. The question of how long the protective barrier would last under non-abraded conditions over 8 h (Test 1) or 16 h (Test 2) wear-time test periods was evaluated. The purpose of the non-abraded sites was to control for any change in efficacy of SERPACWA that might have occurred over the wear time when it was not abraded. We also report the efficacy of SERPACWA when it was challenged immediately after application to the skin. Six subjects were studied in a climate-controlled mom (220-240 C, 25%-30% rh). Four sites were marked on the volar surface of each forearm (2.4cm diameter). The two proximal sites were covered to protect these sites from being abraded. One arm was treated with SERPACWA (50 mi per test site) and the other remained untreated to serve as the control. Only one of the non-abraded sites received SERPACWA prior to the wear time. After 8 h or 16 h, SERPACWA was applied to the untreated site of the SERPACWA-treated arm. A 5 mMol (1 mi) dose of methyl nicotinate (Mnic) was used as the challenge agent to evaluate the efficacy of SERPACWA. Mnic was applied to each site and removed after 2 minutes. One of the distal sites on each arm remained unchallenged to control for the differences in basal blood flow over time. Laser Doppler Imaging (LDI; perfusion units='flux') and visual scoring (VS) were used to quantify cutaneous erythema. LDI scans and VS were performed prior to SERPACWA application and following a 15-minute post-Mnic challenge after Test 1 and Test 2. Analysis of variance of the LDI data from the non-abraded paired sites showed that SERPACWA-treated sites had mean skin blood flow measurements 190 and 165 flux units lower than SERPACWA-untreated sites for Test 1 and Test 2.