Effects of Pepper Gas Exposure in Non-combatant Bystanders.

Pepper Gas Exposure Study

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01922700

Enrollment

298

Registered

2013-08-14

Start date

2013-04-30

Completion date

2013-10-31

Last updated

2014-07-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Cough, Irritation in Skin, Irritation in Throat, Lacrimation

Keywords

Pepper spray, bronchospasm, lacrimation

Brief summary

Pepper sprays and pepper gas grenades are used by riot police at various places in the world for crowd control. Data about the acute effects based on human studies is extremely scarce. Kashmir valley in the northern Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir has witnessed political turmoil for the past 22 years and incidents of stone pelting are common wherein groups of youth indulge in stone pelting at the security personnel. While there have been previous episodes of fatalities associated with incidents of firing by the security personnel; non lethal methods are adopted routinely now. These include lathis, water cannons, tear gas and more recently the pepper gas grenades. The pepper grenades explode in the area and the adverse effects are perceived by the population in the area too who are even sitting in their homes. The study proposes to observe the health effects of the pepper gas exposure in non-combatant civilians.

Detailed description

Eligibility: History of exposure to a pepper grenade explosion. Exclusion: Participation in combat operation/ stone pelting/ demonstration.

Interventions

None listed

Study design

Observational model

ECOLOGIC_OR_COMMUNITY

Time perspective

CROSS_SECTIONAL

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

All participants with a history of exposure to pepper gas grenade explosion

Exclusion criteria

Combatant role while exposure

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Development of cough, irritation in throat, nasal irritation, nasal discharge, wheezing, breathlessness, hemoptysis, chest pain upon exposure or worsening of already existing cough, breathlessness, wheezing of a previous respiratory illness.	24 hours

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Duration of symptoms developed	10 days

Other

Measure	Time frame
Development of other non-respiratory symptoms which include (but not limited to) skin irritation, skin rash, lacrimation, visual disturbances, vomiting, any other GI symptom, headache, fever, seizures or any other neurological symptom and their duration	24 hours

Countries

India

Outcome results