Diagnosis: Lipomembranous panniculitis after air bag deployment.
MICROSCOPIC FINDINGS AND CLINICAL COURSE
The biopsy specimen showed cystic spaces lined by amorphous eosinophilic material containing pseudopapillae. Thick fibrous bands of collagen containing fibroblasts were interposed between the cystic spaces. Nodular collections of epithelioid and foamy histiocytes, giant cells, and neutrophils were evident. Polarization did not reveal foreign bodies, and periodic acid–Schiff, gram, and acid-fast bacilli stains did not identify organisms. Because of the asymptomatic nature of the lesions, no further treatment was undertaken.
DISCUSSION
Cars manufactured after 1989 are required by federal safety standards to be equipped with passive safety restraints. Both driver and front passenger air bags are now standard equipment on new cars.
When a crash occurs, a car's air bag deploys in milliseconds. Ignition and combustion of sodium azide,1 a potent skin toxin,2 produce nitrogen gas, which inflates a nylon bag in the steering wheel housing or dashboard. The bag quickly deflates and releases nitrogen gas, small amounts of carbon dioxide, . . . [Full Text of this Article]
