entity has been known for the past 20 y~ars;' 1 yet the quantities of over-the-counter preparations' with questionable therapeutic effectiveness allo~~f accidental poisonings seen in children to continue. Sibert3 in 1973 reports ' that 9.5 per cent of all hospitalizations due to accidental poisoning in the 6-month to 5-year age period were due to camphor poisoning. In 1973, approximately 500 cases were reported in the United States.4The most common route of camphor poisoning is by oral îngestion.Butit has been reported through other routes such as întranasal by instillation of nasal drops containing camphor, intraperitoneal by injection, and mother-to-fetu,5 by transplacental transfer.5-7 J acobziner8 states that inhalation of camphorated vapor can induce clinical poisoning but gives no references. Indeed, a search of' English medical literattire failed to uncover reports of camphor poisoning secondary to vapor inhalation or by skin absorjJtion. ~'e here present such a case with resultant seizures upon exposure to camphor by these two routes.Case Report E. H., a 7!i!lz-year-old white boy, came to our pediatric neurology clinic For seizure follow-up.He had had normal growth and development until age 15 months when he had crawled through spirits-cif-carn~hon 's~illeci by a sibling. The preparation contained I'0 per cent camphor. Over the ensuing 48 hours, the child became progressively ataxic and had some brief generalized major motor seizures. After Iztaspitalization, the seizures persisted for two days despite appropriate phenobarbital therapy. Over a 15-day period, he siwvly im~ro~Ted--from severe recurrent shaking of extremities with position changes while bedridden, to ambuiation with ataxic gait.His birth weight was 6 lb 10 oz. He was delivered by a breech presentation to a 23-year-old female gravida-4, para-2, aborts-1. No Apgar scores are reported. The mother stated that the baby was lethargic at birth, but with vigorous stimulation spontaneous breathing began. He was discharged from the nursery with his mother. at four days of age. Growth and development recorded by a pediatrician were normal; immunizations were up-to-date. He had not been ill in the months preceding admission for the present illness.
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